Rise of the Red Eclipse
by TheWikia
Summary: As the Galactic Civil War comes to a head, criminal warlord Tyber Zann has become one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, yet in a stunning turn of events following the Battle of Endor, one of his commanders made off to the unexplored regions beyond the outer rim with almost half of Zann's fleet. Join us as we follow him on his transformation from mercenary to savior...
1. Chapter 1

Rise of the Red Eclipse

There is turmoil in the Galactic Empire after the death of Palpatine…a rising criminal warlord Tyber Zann has become one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, yet in a stunning turn of events one of his commanders made off to a new area beyond the outer rim with around half of Zann's fleet; We join them as they survey the last star system on their maps…

* * *

A ship exited into normal space behind a moon, winking in like a star, yet more like a dead comet as it looked like a ghost ship, nothing moving or working until it vanished from view in what appeared to be a ripple in the space around it.

"Open a channel and broadcast on any non-official frequencies in search of possible friendlies and make sure our stealth measures are operating at %100... We don't want whatever government is here to know that we're here..." Captain Nelson said quietly from his spot on the bridge, just forward of the command chair a few feet behind him.

Captain Nelson stood at roughly 6 feet tall with shoulder length brown hair as well as eyes of the same color and a scar running from his right temple to his right jaw line. Wearing an advanced suit of space-black armor and a small scowl, he was still annoyed at the string of 'surprises' that Zann had left him over the past year of hyperspace travel.

Meanwhile, barely a few million kilometers away, the _Omega_ drifted slowly, navigation systems locked in. It continued to scan, and send out the occasional communications ping. The _Omega_ was your average stealth ship with wavering outlines and panels to conceal whatever the user had hidden beneath, traveling for what had to be decades if not centuries just drifting along, until finally, one of the communications pings found its first target in a very long time...

"Isolate that signal; and transmit back our usual 'don't shoot us we come in peace' message." Nelson said before cutting the line and calmly issuing out orders, "Charge shields and scramble Red and Blue Wings to go check that ship out, something that big won't be a problem and if it is, then they should be able to han-" he started before the signal bounced back, cycling and repeating in dozens of languages until Basic came up, giving an emotionless robotic tone to the message.

"Your terms are accepted. I am the artificial intelligence Iz, and this is the ship _Omega_." the message droned. Nelson mulled this over for a moment, moving back to his chair and looking up at the screen.

"Patch me through directly, audio only; So you're an AI... Well Iz my crew was just wondering what the proper name of this system is, we've been running recon ops throughout the galaxy and this is one of the few uninhabited systems we've come across, save you. Any ideas?" Captain Nelson replied.

"I'm sorry to say, your guess is as good as mine. Many of my databases were corrupted during my time offline, and my star maps are out of date. Feel free to check for yourself." the voice replied over the blank screen. At his word, the Communications officer started sifting through the data and sending it directly up to the viewscreen making Nelson's eyes widen for a moment and a smirk to appear on his face.

"Looks like you're on some sort of special mission, interesting for an AI to be given such an important task without a military to back him up... Maybe my fleet can help." Nelson replied, "For the right price, that is."

"Price? Ah, you mean monetary reimbursement. That can be arranged by my government, I'm sure." Iz told Nelson. As he said this five Crusader Gunships, two Interceptor IV frigates and a Keldabe battle cruiser/carrier, the recon group traveling with Nelson for the past few days as the main fleet and convoy escort continued to drift in interstellar space, entered the system. The Keldabe took up the most space being the largest class of ship in the fleet; a fat "T" bristling with defense systems and weapons batteries with enough power to take out a Star Destroyer; the linear, angular Intercepters didn't use as much space but still more than the tiniest ships there, the Crusader Gunship Corvettes; basically as many anti-fighter/missile defenses that Nelson could fit onto a ship only a few dozen meters long.

"Then the ships of the Red Eclipse Pirates are willing to help. Now, I think it might be good if you dock with the _Kindred Spirit_ so we can talk about what exactly this mission requires. We can talk about payment while you're aboard as well." Nelson replied giving an unseen smile. If the readings were right, this would be just what he needed to get everyone settled and starting over without too much hassle.

"Acceptable. _Omega_ out." Iz said before cutting the transmission, leaving the Captain to his thoughts for a few seconds.

"Drop cloak but go back into stealth protocol once the _Omega_ docks; Joshua, send him docking codes, let's get this show on the road." the Captain ordered as he saw the small stealth ship slowly power up and start moving towards them.

About a minute later the Omega began the docking procedures, looking comparatively tiny next to the other ship and rightfully so. The _Kindred Spirit_ was an Aggressor Class Star Destroyer, two mega-cannons the size of frigates at the front with multiple engine systems at the back all combining to make a ship a little over 1 kilometer long. Right off the assembly line, these ships were little more than space taking capital ship killers, but after being serviced and outfitted as a Flagship, she not only had hangar bays that the standard models lacked, but enough cargo space to carry a system's worth of loot, or an army capable of taking a capital city of a planet.

As soon as the hangar was secure Nelson walked down to the main hangar bay where a small looking stealth ship had just entered. He walked over to the robot getting out and shook one of his many hands, hesitating slightly in trying to figure out which one to take as well as give the robot a once over.

_"7 feet even... two sets of two photoreceptors or the equivalent, probably a whole array of visual options... 6 arms, 2 weaponized and folded back... this thing is more than just a simple scout."_ Nelson thought as he shook the middle right arm and then motioned towards the hangar exit.

"Right this way Iz, don't mind the guards, they're just a little trigger happy after a rough escape we made yesterday." the Captain said, getting an affirmative nod from the AI who simply started walking, not waiting for his host to start.

"Interesting makeup..." Joshua said, mostly to himself, as he looked at the security feeds at the newcomer. The resident AI of the _Kindred Spirit_ Joshua, was a successful first prototype to the AI that was being installed on all of the capital ships in the Red Eclipse fleet. A cybernetic mind much like a protocol droid, but instead of being put in the head of a droid unit, his 'body' was the ship. Most of the AIs were given a personality based off of the life of a deceased member of the Eclipse to make sure that they were never uniform in makeup and thus, a flaw in one could never be exploited in the others.

_"Regardless, he should be useful, and the wealth of knowledge in his ship will come in handy."_ he finished as the door opened and he began taking orders once more.

* * *

After arriving on the bridge the holotable warmed up and displayed multiple star systems and their respective information as Nelson proceeded to explain their current situation.

"This is what we know so far; There are about 30 stars within our range from where we are now, that puts a total of systems that exist in this galaxy ranging in the hundreds if it's anything like home. Only about half of the systems we've scouted have inhabitants, some violent and some docile. We've also run across a few strange structures that don't match the architecture types of the factions we've discovered." the spacer said as Joshua brought up one of the buildings that they had seen.

"That... that is actually one of the Sites I am looking to reactivate, Captain." Iz replied while extending a finger towards the table which plugged into one of the many interface sockets.

_"I'll need to ask how he could interface with our systems so quickly later..."_ Nelson thought as he hid his surprise and looked back at the table. Approximately 24 symbols appeared, scattered across the area. Each spot was marked with a different letter of the Greek alphabet as well as Aurebesh.

"That is where we are going." Iz said as the 24 planets gave a small pulse of light "Those are projects seeded by my government. I am to locate and recover these projects, preferably intact. As far as security goes, each project has a guard system in place if everything is still intact. Once we get close enough, I can broadcast the clearance codes. There may be additional resistance from other sources, but I have no information on that."

"Might as well start for Aurek and get the worst out of the way..." Nelson replied with a small nod. "We ran into another group of privateers there a week ago while on recon duty; with any luck we can take over their space station and land an invasion force on the planet. Lieutenant send orders to recall all fighters, set coordinates and tell our fleet the location of that base; I want three more Aggressors and two more Keldabes at that space station 5 minutes after we arrive. Tell the rest of the fleet to get ready to move all operations to Aurek and proceed with colonization."

"Colonization?" Iz asked, one of his four eyes getting slightly brighter.

"We left our galaxy to escape the troubles of it... I have hundreds of ships and thousands of men and women under my command right now. Most of them are refugees that just wanted a new life though, and we've had trouble choosing a suitable place to seed our culture... Might as well start with Aurek, er, Alpha to you." Nelson replied before giving a small sigh. "And now, if you'll excuse my being human, I'm going to grab some sack time before we start a war with a group of pirates." Nelson replied before turning and heading off of the bridge. Once he was gone, Joshua's avatar appeared on the table.

"Feel free to leave the _Spirit_ if you want." he told Iz, "Your ship is being refueled so if you need to recharge in any way, you should be fine, just don't wake Captain Nelson unless someone is dying... he hasn't slept properly for days, and I fear that your little 'Reclamation Campaign' won't help that at all."


	2. Chapter 2

Nine ships entered a system known only to them as Aurek (Or to Iz, Alpha) Site, but the pirate base orbiting the planet didn't notice the cloaked strike force even after the split-second that they were visible before the stealth measures kicked in.

"Joshua, update please." Nelson said, his tone missing its playful quality from before.

"All ships are operating normally and the enemy does not seem to notice us; As for defenses, 3 capital ships could possible hurt us and a rather large number of frigates; Almost no anti-fighter armament and our reinforcements are en route a little early, ETA 2 minutes."

"Launch all fighters and charge up the weapons, we're going in blasting, take care not to destroy that base, I want us able to coordinate before we build up on the ground and any intel we can scrounge from it should be valuable." Nelson replied as he felt the ship shudder as a powerful vibration went through the hull, rewarding the pirate with a satisfying red plasma ball the size of a meteor spinning rapidly towards the flagship of the rival fleet.

* * *

"Excuse me." Iz questioned, hoping that the AI working inside the ship was listening as he walked the corridors towards the bridge, "But I have a favor to ask of you. I have been offline for a large amount of cycles since my arrival, and I was wondering if you had any information on the events I missed?" The moment he closed his mouth, an AI avatar, a clone trooper minus the helmet, appeared on a panel next to him and answered.

"Not much, we exited light speed about 30 seconds ago and have engaged the enemy, Captain Nelson is waiting for you on the bridge so we can start planning the-" Joshua was cut off as the ship lurched to the right and both AIs watched a giant piece of debris go past the window.

"One moment; Just a piece of a frigate that the Captain blew up; but like I was saying, we need to start planning the land invasion."

"Affirmative, I'll get to the bridge as soon as I can... however I believe I'm in need of a guide." Iz said with a small, almost nervous chuckle as a mouse droid moved up in front of him from seemingly nowhere.

"Just follow him and he'll get you there." Joshua's voice said getting a small happy squeak from the little black droid and a smirk from Iz.

"How quaint..." he muttered under his breath before following.

* * *

A few minutes after the fighting started. the remaining frigates started to scatter and make a run for the surface as the com channels filled with taunts from the Eclipse fighter pilots and even some of the officers. Captain Nelson reserved his words more out of needing to set an example than personal preference, if he wasn't in complete command, he'd be shouting alongside his fellow captains before chasing these wannabes out of the system.

"Captain?" Iz said from behind him, getting a small nod and an over the shoulder glance from Nelson.

"Welcome back. Things are going about as expected; we own all the vacuum between here and this systems star and scans have located their ground base. I have an Armor Company en route with the usual logistical and infantry support. However, I think you'll be more interested in what my scouts found." Nelson explained quickly, getting a nod from Iz.

"Scouts and scans noticed this anomaly just north of the main base." Nelson said as he pointed to the flashing icon on the table, "It's emitting the same electromagnetic signatures that you said we should look for and has the same architecture as the Sites you mentioned."

"That is Alpha." Iz replied before looking closely at the hologram before him, his eyes narrowing after a few seconds. "For the signal to be that large there must be a malfunction. I'll need to investigate immediately. Captain, I'll need a strike team with me."

"I can provide that, but I'm coming with you."

"Is that wise given your rank?" the AI asked.

"Not in the slightest but I need to get my boots back on the ground and it'll help morale if I'm seen on the front line." the young pirate replied with a genuine smile.

"Very well then." Iz said before turning. "I assume we're leaving from Hangar A."

"You assume correctly. Muster in 5 and we'll be investigating that compound in 15."

* * *

The transport left the hangar bay accompanied by 5 recently refitted V-Wing fighters. It was a rather quiet ride until Nelson finally spoke up.

"So tell me, what exactly are we looking for down there, your files were... cryptic, to say the least."

"To be honest, I'm not completely sure myself. I know that Alpha Project was a sort of weapons factory. A cornucopia machine, to be exact. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine."

"I like the sound of Weapons Factory... should help us get set up faster if used correctly." Nelson replied while still looking out at the space full of dead pirate ships.

"Commander Jacobs." he said over the main Command Comm Channel, "Have your ground troops start landing on the other side of the planet with Orbital Screen, I don't want anything hiding on the dark side of the planet regrouping to bite us in the ass."

"Aye sir, my boys are mopping up here... not much of a fight, we didn't lose anybody down here and they didn't have any Anti-Air turrets, the Skiprays tore right through 'em." a rough, durasteel feeling voice replied in his ear piece. Commander Jacobs was one of the few true Mandalorians, though many followed their culture, that had chosen to work with Nelson before he left, not only because their home galaxy was getting old, but because it helped to spread to all corners of the galaxy one of the few cultures that Nelson actually admired.

"Glad to hear it, have Captain Torcille start setting up the repair yards and get ready to set up New Keldabe, civilians are to be moved in once orbital defenses are up and running."

* * *

The landing craft landed at Aurek Site softly before the 11 men and one droid that had been its passengers walked out onto the airpad, taking the waiting speeder transport to their main destination; a large entrance that looked more like a religious temple than an arms factory. Once they disembarked, they were greeted by a man who looked more like a ronto than a human, most likely one of the shock troopers who had been assigned guard duty.

"Aurek..." Nelson muttered quietly as he took in just the sheer size of the 100 foot tall door.

"My sensors indicate that the factory has gone into overdrive because of a malfunction." Iz stated.

"Lovely." Nelson replied.

"It also appears that my security clearance codes have been rejected. They won't let us in easily."

"Even better." The pirate replied as he unslung the high powered blaster rifle on his back "Grid 1 this is Spirit Actual, send a Canderous and Heavy platoon to my coordinates, we need a door opened."

A few minutes later, Nelson's request was granted as a hover tank with two heavy blaster cannons on either side of the turret head floated over. Once stopped, 20 men sitting atop the metal monster dismounted leisurely as Nelson simply pointed to the door. Moments later, the tank opened fire, one shot at a time until a section of the door was melted because of the sheer heat of the plasma being thrown at it.

"Sergeant, if you would." Nelson said as four men ran up and started cutting an entrance in the door big enough for five men walking abreast to make it through.

"Perfect, everyone in, make sure you got lights on and overlapping fields of fire... and for Force's sake don't touch anything without consulting Iz." Nelson ordered getting grins from some of the men and women loading up.

"You might want to seal your armor after we reach the first barrier. There is no life support beyond it." Iz said. "And it might be a good idea to have someone waiting out here just in case the defenses try to escape." he finished, getting a nod from Nelson.

"You get that Joshua?"

"Yes sir, sending orders to Grid 1... I've also just re-linked up with Captain Torcille's tactical AI, we're about to have company from our old friends, they managed to get out a distress signal. Nothing too large but the fleet is still en route regardless."

"Noted. Tell Kristoff that I want their personnel mostly intact if they want to join up with us."

"Aye Captain; have fun spelunking." the AI quipped getting a small smirk from Nelson as the men around him finally moved up, ready to enter the complex at his command.

* * *

After 10 minutes of tripping over the dead husks of what looked like some strange type of battle droid, the 30 man, one AI in a robotic body strike team made it to a slightly smaller door than the one that they had blasted through earlier. There were no panels, control points, access terminals, or even a keyhole, just a seam where the two massive blocks of metal met.

Nelson was about to ask how to get through when Iz placed his hand on the door, causing it to glow a bit as information passed through. It opened with a hiss of depressurization. As the overly large slabs of metal slowly recessed back into their housings and the dust settled, the team was granted with a view that made most of them hit their lower jaws on the bottom of their helmets.

A huge cavern lay on the other side, with much of it covered in a seething gray mass. Occasionally a lump of indeterminate material would pass through another door on a conveyor belt whose end destination they couldn't determine simply because of how convoluted, yet precise the groups of machinery were.

"Careful not to touch the gray goo. It's made up of nanomachines designed to harvest materials from just about anything and reconvert that material into the desired machine. It would eat through your suit in seconds." Iz stated as he stepped over one of the offending puddles of deadly machines.

"Got it, seven of you stay here and make sure we can still get out." Nelson said without turning as he followed Iz through the jungle of pipes, girders, and conveyer belts until a mechanic shriek began to emanate from the sludge. It started to creep towards the unregistered life forms at an alarming pace making Iz backed up slowly, but steadily.

"We must have tripped some sort of bio sensor... only place to shut off the defenses is the control center."

"And that is where exactly?" Nelson asked as he backed away too.

"This way!" the AI replied as he broke into a run, followed extremely closely by Nelson and his team. However, they ran into another snag halfway through running away from the slow goo. As the Captain was mid-stride and about to say something sarcastic, something metal jumped down and tried to bisect him at the waist with a blade on it's arm that cut clean through one of the conveyer belts. The experienced pirate swiftly gave his rebuttal.

Moments later, a combat droid with its entire chest gone and smoking dropped to the floor.

"Iz, how much do you care about the roof of this factory?" Nelson asked as he holstered his smoking blaster pistols.

"We cannot allow the rampant nanites to escape. Left unchecked, they will just continue to eat."

"Blast!" Nelson cursed under his breath.

"My schematics show that we're close to the command center; I can deactivate the automatic defenses from there."

"Strike One! Double time!" the sergeant with Nelson's team shouted, but not before another three droids jumped at the team. Nelson shot one in the face as two men gunned another down before it hit the floor. The last one however, made it through and brought it's arm down onto Nelson as hard as his hydraulics could manage in what would have been a killing blow if the organic he was aiming at hadn't raised his arm and caught the droid appendage.

"Sorry buddy, Durasteel beats whatever you're made of." The Captain said as his left arm let out sparks and showed in the inner wiring. Less than a second after his taunt, the machine dropped down missing its head thanks to a well placed shot by a member of the strike team.

Iz hurriedly lead them down a set of ramps, into the heart of the facility. Once everyone entered the room he locked it behind them.

"I should be able to shut everything down from here." Iz stated as a loud thumping came from outside before going very suddenly and very eerily silent.

"That sound is never good..." a corporal muttered.

"They reached the door... one moment..." Iz said as he hurried to reinforce the door with a personal shield; but as he got there, the door burst open and a flood of nanites swarmed over him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Lay it on 'em! Sergeant, shield and screen!" Nelson shouted even as they all began firing. As they filled the area with plasma, a large man stepped up dropped a small device on the ground which moments later popped up as a large shield between them and the nanites. Once clear, the sergeant helped Iz up as the strike team set up in defensive positions.

"Iz, you have 2 minutes to do what you need before... well, you know..." Nelson said as another droid jumped from the shadows and tried to take another swipe at the Captain. The pirate swiftly punched in its chest with his mechanical limb and pulled out a small reactor.

"Remind me to get my arm re-skinned so the servos don't show when we get back."

Iz limped back to the control console with the help of the sergeant and another corporal that went over to help, patches of his body disappearing as the nanites spread. Dragging himself forward out of their grip, he plugged in as the nanites finally stopped, having completely dissolved Iz's body.

"Overlapping fields of fire, personal shield generators at full once they break through; Private, see what you can do to repair Iz while we cover you two fro- Contact! Light'em up!" Nelson said as he pulled out his rifle. A high-powered sniper rifle that he had gotten just a little too good with in his days working for Tyber Zann. He steadied his breathing and took four shots; five droids hit the ground after falling off of the rafters above.

"60 seconds left Iz..." Nelson said, but as he did, the droids halted where they were and the pounding at the door ceased.

"That won't be necessary." Iz said, but his voice seemed to come from... everywhere...

"Whew... that was close..." One of the soldiers said quietly as Nelson's comlink started to buzz again.

"Ed, this is Jacobs, we lost two of your boys at the front entrance; they were about to reach the tank line and then they suddenly stopped. Is it safe to assume that it was your fault?"

"Sort of, Iz interfaced with the system and stopped them... I think."

"You are right to assume that, Captain." Iz stated again, making Nelson a little nervous since the voice was everywhere.

"That might explain why I'm hearing you over this place's intercom system...So, what are we looking at?" Nelson asked as his men lowered their rifles and started to explore the immediate area being careful not to wander too far off or trigger more traps.

"This is the Core. All of the schematics and designs necessary for production were stored here. It seems that the factory was brought online a few days ago. Approximately the same time I reactivated."

"A strange coincidence..." Nelson muttered under his breath before being annoyed by his comm unit again.

"Captain Nelson this is Captain Torcille, we need you in orbit right now. A fleet just entered the system, our logs place it as rival reinforcements; We're have reinforcements inbound but we need you up here ASAP, I wager 10 minutes before they open fire and get within orbital platform weapon's range and 15 before the civilian transports arrive."

"Go ahead and move to engage and draw them into the range of the platforms. Iz, we got 10 minutes before this becomes an active warzone." Nelson said as he looked at the machinery with interest, "Just what sort of weapons does this place make anyway?"

"What do you need?" the AI asked with a hint of intrigue in his metallic voice.

"If this thing can churn out 10 destroyers that look like my Aggressors then we're good, if not then my men can still win, but it will cost us." The Captain said as a shadow started to creep up on the men and jumped only to find a pistol at his head being aimed by Nelson. He looked closely and lowered the weapon after closer inspection though.

"Iz what am I looking at?"

"I went ahead and requisitioned a new combat form to replace my destroyed one. And yes, I can get you those destroyers, but it will take some time. How much do we have?"

"10 minutes, maybe less, I'm leaving these men here to guard you and more of my Marines are occupying the factory to make sure no more hostiles get in, I'm heading up to the fleet. Leave when you need too, we'll cover your back." the Captain said before leaving the factory and heading up to his flagship as the Red Eclipse fleet was already engaged in the usual hit-and-run tactics to fight off a navy that outnumbered them 5 to 1; The poor bastards trying to take out Nelson's fleet didn't have a chance.

* * *

"If he needs ships, I'll give him ships." Iz thought smugly as he set the factory to overdrive, increasing the production rate exponentially. However, the speed came with its own drawbacks. The factory would most likely take months to repair after this. Once everything was locked in, Iz disengaged the Seed and commandeered a ship.

The remaining 72 enemy ships closed on the pirate fleet as they withdrew towards the orbital defense line, both sides started to take casualties and the _Kindred Spirit_ was starting to glow as her shields strained to hold back the enemy fire. Two enemy cruisers got on either side of her and started to charge their weapons.

"Captain, they're about to fire, orders?"

"Open all Mass Driver Broadsides on each side, open fire!"

25 ports opened on each side of the _Spirit_ and started to fire mass drivers tipped with explosive plasma shells ripping both enemy cruisers to shreds, fighters swarmed in on the crippled targets taking out escaping fighters that tried to escape the raging inferno as the remains of the ship entered the atmosphere only to be plowed over by 10 Aggressors lifting off from the surface, gaining altitude quickly. Escape pods were tagged and captured the moment they landed below by the remaining armored forces still on the planet.

Following the droid-manned Aggressors were two strange looking ships, smaller than the Aggressors. Each destroyer fired off their main weapons, 10 Ion and 10 Plasma bolts the size of asteroids. They quickly closed with the enemy, catching them on their flanks while the two small ships circled around behind the remains of the rival fleet.

"Glad you could make it to the party Iz." Nelson said from his command chair with a smile as he saw 8 targets disintegrate and burn as their internal atmosphere ignited. "Still around 40 targets left including that big boy in the center of the pack. I want to capture it so we can get some more data, supplies, and maybe even find out what these idiots call themselves."

"Copy that, moving in now." Iz replied getting a small smile from Nelson.

"Have Hammer Strike 4 form up on us, Attack Pattern Resh." Nelson ordered.

Moments later, the _Kindred Spirit_ lurched forward with two Keldabes and five other Aggressors behind it as they flew straight towards the enemy fleet. Halfway to their targets, the Eclipse ships disappeared without warning, only to reappear a few seconds later on the flank taking out seven enemy ships and wounding three others leaving a straight path to the command ship.

"You interested in a boarding mission?" Nelson asked over the com while Joshua lined up the next shot. However, before the battle group could fire, the two smaller ships from earlier deployed a multitude of small missile like objects. The missiles accelerated and then disappeared, tracking the weapon systems of the enemy fleet. Any of the ships who did not immediately power down were enveloped in a flash of energy. Those that did power down were now sitting ducks, one of which, was the Command ship now weaponless with its shields offline.

"Lead the way." Iz responded with a grin from his own command chair while the droid crew of his ship worked without response.

* * *

Iz walked onto the bridge of the enemy flagship, which they had learned was named _Lucky Ghost_, while surveying the clean-up team clearing the bridge of bodies. Once at the front, Nelson gestured to the main screen.

"You're going to want to see this Iz." he said before pulling up a display of the galaxy map, "It looks like these 'Black Moon Pirates' as they're calling themselves, have already laid claims to nine other sites like Aurek. This was their next target and by the looks of it they have five of Sites up and running. Encryption is pretty hard so I can't tell what the active Sites do just yet-"

"This cannot be allowed! To think what would happen if we left tools like this in the hands of these meddlers! At least you fight with a sense of honor and respect; we must secure those sites, at all costs." Iz exclaimed, if he had need to breathe, he'd be heaving at this point.

The Captain looked surprised at the outburst for a moment before closing his eyes and mulling things over in his head.

"You're asking me to declare a territory war..." he responded quietly.

"It is more than worth it. We must secure these Sites lest they be used against innocents for the sake of this 'Black Moon's' pleasure or advantage." Iz nearly spat back.

"Then I expect a much larger payment for this; I'm waging a war against time that may cost us dearly..."

"Name the price." the AI replied.

"Aurek. The planet is mine as well as the resources needed to build this." Nelson said as he brought up an image on the main screen. A ship, nearly 20 kilometers in length in a wedge shape.

"You want Alpha to create that... a daunting ship indeed..."

"The _Executor_ as it was called by the Galactic Empire of my home galaxy, is one of the grandest ships envisioned save the _Eclipse_, but I wasn't able to steal the schematics for it. This Super Star Destroyer however... the first one took decades to make. The others after barely two years... with Aurek working at capacity with our shipyards, we can have this built and manned in a little over a month."

"This is... acceptable." Iz replied after nearly a full minute of silence. Nelson swore he heard his central processor heat up as he went through the thought processes.

"Good, now then, onto business. We need to hit here, Cresh Site, first, that has the most resistance and their first break in. We'll get under way in two days, but I already have a skirmisher force heading there now. I'd get ready for a fight and outfit the _Omega_ with some better weapons if I were you."

"An acceptable plan." Iz replied emotionlessly, getting a silent nod from Nelson as he turned and got back to work.

13 ships set in coordinates and jumped to light speed towards Cresh Site leaving large fleet to guard Aurek Site as civilian transports by the hundreds and more capital ships continued to stream into the fledgling colony.

Nelson looked out of the main view screen holding a small datapad showing three pictures. The last time the Red Eclipse had gone to war it had cost him almost everything. Silently, he closed the files, looked out the window one more time, and vowed silently not to let that happen again.


	4. Chapter 4

15 ships entered normal space but because of their stealth coating once again the enemy did not see them. After getting into position they began engaging the enemy at random while still cloaked, disappearing before the Black Moon could fire back or do enough damage to break their shields.

"Lieutenant, status report please." Captain Kayle ordered.

"Out of the 43 ships that were left to protect this sector, 13 are left, the destroyer _Luminous_got a little too cocky and it staying under the radar for self repairs."

"How about the forces on the ground?"

"Large military base, sir. Looks like they've been bolstering defenses since the attack on Aurek failed."

Kayle nodded quietly before turning to the viewscreen.

"Comms, tell Nelson that he has the green light to move in on the other side of the planet. Ground invasion is needed on a large scale."

"Aye sir." the woman at the comms station replied.

* * *

"ETA, Joshua?"

"35 standard minutes, sir."

"Good; launch a fighter screen the moment we pop cloak and get those Keldabes on the ground."

"That may be inadvisable, Captain." Iz said from his position next to the holotable.

"And why is that?"

"Gamma, or Cresh as you call it, is a chemical Bio-Weapons manufacturer... I have no idea if the Black Moon has been able to use them or if the planet itself has been contaminated. Landing anything but combat droids would be throwing men into battle against an enemy they can't fight."

"And planetary bombardment is out of the question, it would melt the crust and take out Cresh... How dangerous is this infection, can HAZMAT teams get in if we set up a shield around the site?"

"Yes, that would be optimal." Iz replied stoically.

"Joshua, Inform all ships; no prisoners, take pains to eliminate all escape pods and any pieces of debris that won't burn up in the atmosphere; it's distasteful but I don't want to take any chances with the men."

"You seem more politician than Pirate, Captain Nelson." Iz replied dryly.

"I was labelled a pirate by the Empire and I still am. I just happen to have more people that I need to take care of than the average spacer." Nelson replied just as dryly as Joshua compiled and sent orders for their Biohazard teams to get to work.

"Interesting viewpoint for a criminal that was most likely forced into his position..." Iz stated.

"I'll join you and your ground team as soon as we establish a station in one of these asteroids." Nelson replied, ignoring the previous statement with a bit of irritation.

After this the _Kindred Spirit_accelerated towards the main asteroid base. Once in position she opened up with everything in her arsenal taking out most of the offensive systems just in time for the dropships and boarding parties to blast their way into the hangar and other key points in the base. Within an hour the base was floating under a new flag and the Captain was on his way down to the planet below.

Nelson walked into the command center where Iz and another officer, a Colonel, were standing over the holotable debating over the proper form of attack before the Captain stepped in and ended the small squabble.

"So, what sort of Bio-Weapons are we dealing with?"

"Organic; Gamma station was home to my race's biological research center. Being machines ourselves; we were always interested in organics."

"That's comforting... You have anything to add Colonel?"

"Yes sir. We did autopsies of the enemy dead who were infected, and it looks as though this new strand of whatever your boys happened to be making is air borne, but only inside the Site. Keep your suits sealed or your lungs are going to start eating themselves and your skin will start to peel off. Needless to say, I think we should stick with the compartmentalized environmental suits and the skin on your prosthetic arm needs to be removed Captain."

"Expound on the autopsies." Nelson ordered quietly.

"Airborne infection that kills, but it takes a little pod-like creature to burrow into its victim for a combatant to turn against his allies."

"Comforting..." The Captain muttered as he looked over the combat footage, "At least these 'Infection' pods are easy to kill." he finished getting a solemn nod from the Colonel and no reaction from Iz.

* * *

"Well, this sure is a nice place for a summer home." Nelson said as he stepped off of the Canderous carrying them from the main HAZMAT base to the Site entrance.

"We should use caution. There may be other activated... tests..." Iz said hesitantly.

"That doesn't sound too encouraging... Let's not risk lives here; bring out the squads of Mk II Droidekas." Nelson ordered into his com.

As one, 10 droids rolled onto the ground from their racks on the droid transporter and up to the door, unfurled and deployed shields. All of them walked inside while armored transports and tanks guarded the entrance. After making their way inside Iz and Nelson turned on their helmet lights to reveal an impossible sight.

"Holy hell..." Nelson whispered.

"I can honestly say in all confidence that I have never seen anything like that before." Iz added.

The team was staring at a large... thing... over 10 stories high and who knows how long across. It was pulsating and creating small spores that attached to the walls and sprouted into small organisms that looked like miniature versions of the main creature.

"Scans are complete." Iz said, "That thing is definitely alive, and sentient... It's also feeding too, judging by the look of those corpses on the bottom... Now what?"

"It may be too large for conventional weaponry or just pumping it full of blaster fire until it dies." Nelson replied.

"Our best bet might be stealth."

"Works for me; Red team, get in here and bring Plasma Det Packs, we need to take out a rather big obstacle." Nelson ordered as he continued to size up the create.

Meanwhile, Iz proceeded to acquire surveillance information of the creature, careful not to disturb it as Red team arrived and left leaving the droids to take up defensive position.

"Alright Iz, that thing is rigged up to enough explosives to take out the _Kindred Spirit_from the outside and then some."

A creature jumped from the walls and collided with Nelson sending him to the ground, two Droidekas shot it off and another one attacked. Nelson simply let it get close, placed his palm on it's chest, and flexed his hand. The creature toppled over after a silver blade of energy burned into it, killing the pod inside its chest. The blade disappeared and a small flashlight-sized metal cylinder jumped out of Nelson's fake arm into his awaiting right hand.

"Long story short; this is an anti-everything sword I acquired way back when and I'm going to set this thing to explode and die before I have to use it again. Anything else I need to know about it Iz?"

"No! Just rig it to blow before its offspring terminate us!" Iz shouted back as he fought off more of the creatures.

* * *

On the edges of mapped space was the planet labeled B-1573. Considered uninhabitable, and therefore ignored, its only visitors were the occasional explorer. One such explorer, referred to as Hawk, was traversing the ruins on the planets surface.

Hawk made his way deeper into the facility, surprised at its lack of decay. This place should have been nothing but a pile of rust by now. A recorder on his helmet transferred information back to his ship, where it was processed by the crew.

To his left, he saw a deep scratch in the wall, contrasting with the pristine state of the walls around it. The scratch trailed down a darkened hall, to another blast door. He had already encountered several other blast doors, all sealed tight. This one, however, had been ripped apart. Turning on his light, he scanned the room carefully, noting its immense size. Hawk approached a raised monolith in the middle of the room which was covered in strange glyphs.

As he began to copy them, he heard what sounded like machinery powering up, as well as some strange clicks. Suddenly, he was lying on the floor, his helmet knocked clean off. Scrambling to his feet, Hawk took off back to his ship.

His helmet continued to roll, transmitting to the ship. Figures began to detach from the wall, unfolding into humanoid shapes. A claw moved in front of the lens, as it was raised from the floor. What looked like an eye scanned the helmet briefly, before crushing it.

A large contingent of ships entered the system before a slightly smaller group of ships came in and obliterated them. After landing troops on the ground the leader of this battle group walked into the command center where a security team was holding a man, an explorer who looked like he had seen Hell.

Sadly, questioning could not be commenced as the main doors burst open and the creatures that attacked Hawk proceeded to attack the land force and open fire on the forces in orbit.

Within minutes the entire force was wiped out save one ship, and not even the entire crew made it out alive...

* * *

Nelson stood outside the Cresh Site complex as smoke continued to roll out of the doors. While he didn't stay to see the destruction of the creature, he was certain that it was gone for good.

"That was... interesting." Iz calmly said. As he did so, Nelson put his hand to his ear, a message from orbit was incoming.

"Captain! The _Death Watch_ just jumped in from light speed; Forn Sight is active and hostile, the entire group wiped out except for about half of this crew and another survivor; not one of ours." Commander Jacobs told him, causing Nelson's eyes to widen for a moment.

"Get the men debriefed as soon as I return and start interrogating that survivor; Iz...What is For- er, Zeta Site?"

"Zeta is active?! That's impossible. It can only run with... oh no. We must get there. Now!"

* * *

Three standard rotations of Forn Site later, 50 ships entered the system where the site was located; there were ships around the planet of different makes and designs but all looked sickly and like ghost ships. Luckily there weren't very many and the Red Eclipse Pirates only lost two of their smaller vessels in the brutal combat that ensued.

There were many more injured than Nelson would have liked though.

"Here we are... Forn Site; I don't want to head down there until we have better Intel. Joshua, bring up what we know on the holotable." Nelson said while watching the final enemy vessel disintegrate.

The planet appeared on the table and a large portion was expanded.

"This is where our men found Hawk and were ambushed... nothing but dead bodies; no machines left, all of them seem to be under enemy control like with our ships in orbit... What exactly are we dealing with Iz?" he asked before the Kindred Spirit lurched to the left, sending many people to the deck.

"Joshua; status!"

"The enemy is firing upon us with land based weaponry, but our forces are going full stealth and will soon be invisible to any forces below. We cannot start an invasion without revealing our positions, we're at a stalemate."

"Well that's just lovely... Iz, I think it's time we gave the Omega a spin, just you and me so we can stay as unnoticed as possible."

"Understood. She is ready to go any time." Iz replied.

* * *

The small ship left the _Kindred Spirit_and headed to the surface landing about a mile away from the structure.

"Forn is north of here; we need to make sure no one sees us on the way in - duck!" Nelson shouted.

Ten of the creatures jumped at them, one caught a fist to the face and a saber blade through its skull, and soon the other 9 were down with the help of Iz unloading on them.

"What the hell are these things?"

Another group of about a dozen closed in quickly. One scanned Iz, and the group backed off, surrounding them but making no move to attack.

"The soldiers of my people."

"Then why'd the scouts attack you too?"

"I cannot control them. Someone else is keeping them in check."

Iz and Nelson were led by the creatures to the entrance to the Sit; as they walked toward the door more of the creatures emerged and a small aperture scanned both Nelson and Iz, after the scan it beeped a cryptic message to the warriors and Nelson was suddenly surrounded and bound at the hands.

Nelson simply looked up and broke the restraints only to have the set he just broke reassemble on his wrists again.

"What the hell is this Iz?"

"I believe they are taking us to their leader."

"...and I'm being bound because I'm mostly organic... perfect."

The two men were lead into the structure and taken deep inside where the leader stood...

"Looks better than the thing we found at Cresh, but still... what in the worlds is that thing?"

Iz looked on with awe. When his answer finally came it mirrored his expression.

"That is Zi . . . my other half."


	5. Chapter 5

Hundreds of the bots surrounded a large column, which was flashing with lights and at a rapid speed. Plugged into the top was a machine much like Iz.

"Iz... does he have the Evil Twin thing going on or is he just misunderstood?" Nelson quipped, not knowing any other way to react while restrained.

"Uncertain. I thought she had been decommissioned." Iz replied getting a slightly shocked face from Nelson at the word 'she', "She had become unnecessary; My creators must have covered it all up, keeping the truth from me."

"Can you communicate with her to let her know that my men are not a threat to her or her minions?" the Captain asked quietly.

"Not without a direct link." Iz replied, but as he spoke, the bots around Iz and Zi backed up clearing a path. As they walked towards Zi Nelson's binds fell off.

"I must not be a threat anymore... either that or she heard me. Hello?"

Zi twitched in response to the sudden noise. After this Iz slowly walked forward, until he was almost touching Zi. A blue light winked from his eyes. Suddenly, a red light appeared in Zi's eyes, and she grabbed Iz by what would amount to a throat. They stayed like that for a few minutes. The lights flashing rapidly, getting faster and faster until they eventually dimmed and Zi let go. Her robotic shell crumpled to the floor the moment her hands left Iz.

"Is she dead or unconscious?" Nelson asked.

"She no longer inhabits that shell." Iz replied as he opened his eyes, one red and one blue now, "We have merged our cores together." Izzi said, both voices speaking at once now.

"Which means you now have control of your people's army...That would save a lot of lives and make this reclamation of your people's property go a hell of a lot quicker."

Iz and Zi remained quiet for a little too long causing Nelson to slouch over a little.

"You don't have combat access to the droids, do you?"

"It's not that. It's just . . . my people are all gone. Wiped out by the weapons they made. Zi and I are the last."

Nelson looked at the robot with sympathy and responded quietly, though the pain still showed in his voice.

"I know how you feel..." he said, sending the room into an extremely uncomfortable silence for a while until the Captain broke it.

"We can still use these drones effectively against the Black Moon though... with Aurek still churning out ships and this place creating infantry, we can cut loses and time exponentially."

"Affirmative." Izzi replied, seemingly having regained his composure.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you show emotion, Iz."

"Granted solely by my other half, Captain... I had forgotten what... emotions were." the AI replied stoically. All he got was a silent nod from Nelson as the two men left the Site.

"Jacobs, how're things holding?" Nelson asked over the com.

"Captain? Holy Force Captain! You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Nelson asked with a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"You've been off the grid for two months, sir." Jacobs replied making Nelson's eyes go wide and Izzi's optics to mirror the gesture.

"Oh dear... they were right." the AI muttered.

"Right about what, exactly?" Nelson asked.

"Temporal distortion... Captain I'm afraid that when we entered Zeta, one of the experimental defense systems locked us in time as well."

"You're kidding me..."

"I'm afraid not. I had heard about such technology being used but never had seen it in action... and before you ask, no, I do not know how to access it so messing with the past or future is not happening." Izzi replied getting a scowl from Nelson.

"Next time warn me if I might be out of contact for months from my men! They need me around!" Nelson shouted.

"Yelling at me will not fix this; I suggest you move past it and let us get on to business... besides, your officers always did say you needed a vacation." Izzi quipped getting another scowl from Nelson.

"Yeah! On Taris or maybe Muunilist! Not in some hell hole watching you make the first eye contact with a female in years for two months solid!" Nelson snapped back.

"You're beginning to annoy me, Captain..."

"Deal with it for 30 minutes and get us back into orbit so I can see what I've missed thanks to your twin." Nelson spat as he walked past the AI, obviously still fuming and heading towards the _Omega_.

* * *

"...And Aurek's first civilian city is now complete, sir. Military bases are already fully operational across the planet." Joshua replied as Captain Nelson looked through all of the data.

"And the _Alderaan_?" the still rather angry pirate asked.

"On her way here, sir. Weapons are not operational right now but shields are working and she makes a very nice carrier at the moment."

"Right..." he moaned as he sat back in his command chair. "Between accidental time travel and Iz now becoming 'Izzi'... I think I've had enough of today."

"Well then you don't want to know what just exited hyperspace and is holding outside our main docking bay..." Joshua replied bringing up the feed from the cameras onto the main viewscreen.

"What the hell is an Imperial Shuttle doing outside the Outer Rim!?"

"No idea sir, but there's an automatic hail requesting docking clearance... weapons have not charged and there's only one life sign aboard."

"I'll be right down, give them clearance but don't pop the hatch until I'm down there."

"Aye sir." the AI replied as Nelson was already halfway out the door.

* * *

Captain Nelson stood at the rear entry ramp of the shuttle with a security team all in heavy gear, mostly armor salvaged from Clone Wars battlefields that each man had customized as they liked.

"Open the hatch." the Captain ordered as he heard the safeties clicking off of the rifles beside him. The door opened slowly as smoke started to billow out, until the ramp simply collapsed onto the hangar deck. Moments later a woman jumped down onto the dead ramp, clutching her side and limping towards Nelson until she fell forward straight into the Captain's arms.

Nelson slowly peeled her helmet off and did his best to clear the blood and hair obscuring her face away before almost dropping her once he saw.

"It can't be... Hannah... Someone get a Medic down here now!" he shouted as he looked over his oldest friend, unconscious and bleeding in his arms.

Barely five minutes later a medical team got her on a stretcher and straight to the medbay. Nelson followed along, watching as they tended to her wounds. He stood there in silence for hours as they put in bacta implants and did their best to stabilize her.

"She is your mate?" Izzi asked from behind him, making Nelson jump a little at the assumption.

"No... no she's not..." he said, barely above a whisper.

"Friend?" the AI asked again, this time getting a small nod from Nelson.

"An old friend... really old friend. We grew up together until the Empire found out she was Force sensitive. I didn't see her again until a raid went south and we both ended up on the wrong side of the field; long story short I kept one of her lightsabers and she kept my arm..."

"Intriguing... I hope however, that her being here does not impair your ability to operate as we assault Beta Site."

"Besh will fall easily." Nelson replied. "We'll attack once the _Alderaan_ is fully operational."

"How long?" the AI questioned.

"A week or two." Nelson answered quietly.

"Understood." Iz replied in his usual emotionless tone before turning and leaving Nelson alone with his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

"She's stabilized sir, but she won't be moving for at least a week... combat for two." a medical droid told a man in an Eclipse officer's uniform.

"When will she wake up?" Nelson asked quietly.

"She's already awake, sir." the medical droid replied. However, the droid was caught very off guard at what happened next.

Nelson didn't move.

The 'Infamous' Captain Nelson as the Black Moon was already calling him didn't move a muscle save looking back into the medical bay at the woman on the bed. He couldn't. He was scared stiff by the prospect of seeing someone who he had effectively abandoned years ago.

For once in his life, the word coward applied to him.

"Are you alright sir? Your pulse has elevated." the droid asked.

"I'm... fine... just give me a minute. I need time alone with my thoughts." Nelson replied.

* * *

Hannah Carlson, formerly an Emperor's Hand and Assassin Elite that answered only to Palpatine and one of the deadliest women in the galaxy was tired. Tired, cold, hungry, and in pain. Needless to say her trip was not a pleasant one and the hallucinations were not welcome. Seeing Ed after all these years was either her mind or the Force playing a cruel trick on her.

He'd been dead for over a year before she left.

"You don't look so good." a rough voice blared over the ceiling speaker breaking Hannah from her thoughts.

"What was your first clue, slimo?" she replied with the sarcasm heavy in her tone.

"I've been ordered to find out why you're here tracking the Red Eclipse; I'll be asking questions." the voice said again causing the injured woman to roll her eyes.

"I'm not tracking you guys... I'm following you. Palpatine being gone and the Empire falling apart kinda left my job options a little slim so I ran. Lots of Imperial officials who were forced to work for him are running too."

"And you just happened to land on Nelson's doorstep?"

"He's alive!?" she exclaimed. Maybe she hadn't hit her head as hard as she thought.

"He's in charge..." Nelson said as he stepped inside the room. "You're clear Joshua, I'll take it from here..." he added before looking back at Hannah quietly.

"You're supposed to be dead." she replied breathlessly. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"I heard you the first time... and no; I'm alive and kicking, have been for the past two years."

"You are getting the biggest beating and hug of your life once I can get off this damn bed." she growled causing Nelson to smirk a little.

"Nice to see that you're still you, Hannah." he said as he got up next to her bed. Once there she punched him right in the jaw getting a very loud "Blast!" from the older man.

"Damnit woman you can still hit." he muttered while rubbing his jaw where she hit him.

"You expected differently after making me think you were dead for the past two years?"

"No not really... just... damn."

"Serves you right." she muttered before leaning back and letting out a sigh while Nelson sat down next to her.

"I kept it." he finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Kept what?" she asked quietly.

"Your saber... I still use it too... it saved my life back on Aurek a few months ago." Nelson replied quietly while Hannah just gawked at him. "I also need to see to the fleet, we need to start the colonization process for Forn Site as soon as possible." he finished before putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment and then leaving the room, and a very bewildered former-Lieutenant Carlson behind him.

* * *

"Status." Nelson ordered as he walked onto the bridge.

"Nothing out of the ordinary sir." Joshua replied, "_Alderaan_ is working as a mobile space port while the orbital stations are being built, colonization is just beginning as we speak."

"Bring up Black Moon fleet movements on the table." Nelson said and was instantly greeted with the sight of multiple little triangles with the Black Moon insignia moving about until one disappeared.

"Jacobs went hunting after you went silent, sir."

"Sounds good, have him head send a scouting team to Besh, I want to know what we're facing before we attack."

"Orders processed and sent, sir."

"Thank you Joshua..." Nelson replied quietly before heading back to his command chair and sinking into it. Two months frozen in time, Izzi acting erratically, Forn barely active, and Hannah out in his back yard all in one day...

"I'm getting too old for this crap..." Nelson muttered under his breath.

"You're only 24, sir." Joshua replied getting a groan from the man who simply put his face in his palm.


	7. Chapter 7

"30 minutes out?"

"Yes sir, the first beacon picked it up; roughly 7 battle groups with a dozen or so ships per group and we have well over 100 angry Black Moon vessels coming for us." Joshua replied.

"How the hell do they have so many ships...?" Nelson asked before looking over the table once more. "Move the _Alderaan_ into position, she's taking this fight solo."

"Sir, the weapons are barely a day old, thi-"

"This will be a proper field test and if something happens, we have a planet's worth of assets to go help her out; move her into position, this fight belongs to General Hyain." Nelson ordered.

"Aye sir... sending orders now..." Joshua replied quietly.

"I guess we finally get to feel how the Empire did at Laakteen Depot..." Nelson mumbled to himself getting a small thoughtful nod from his AI counterpart, and a few shudders from his bridge crew as bad memories flooded back into their minds.

* * *

Space seemed to blink in and out as 107 Black Moon ships of varying size and class all jumped out of hyperspace, most with their shields up full front and weapons ready to go while fighters began to stream out leisurely of the carriers to create a point defense perimeter.

"All ships form up and ready to flank once the main attack force hits the front." the Captain at the head of this large fleet ordered.

"Sir, picking up strange readings behind us." one of the bridge officers stated.

"On scr-" the captain began to say before he was thrown forward as the engine of his ship detonated sending the carrier spinning forward until the emergency thrusters kicked in.

"What just hit us!?" the captain asked.

"A space station, but what's it doing out this far from the planet!?" the officer who noticed it first replied before looking out the main viewport and finding that not only was his statement wrong, but that he and everyone he knew was not making it out of this star system in one piece.

"My god..." the pirate captain muttered as he saw 12 of his ships detonate from superior firepower in less than a minute, followed shortly by himself and the rest of his bridge crew being vaporized as a beam of high velocity plasma burning as hot as a star burned through what was left of his flagship's shielding and straight into the bridge.

* * *

"All guns open up! Suppressive fire on those fighters and get our own out there as soon as the fire slackens!" General Zyson Hyain barked from his place at the front of the bridge of the _Alderaan_. "And someone let Nelson know that he can join in any time- concentrate fire on the carrier! Coordinates 978 by 352 and 281!"

* * *

Captain Nelson stood on the bridge of the _Kindred Spirit_, watching as random explosions filled the inky black of space that he was most familiar with. Lines of plasma and laser fire burned through the vacuum, intersecting and detonating on either shield or hull plating.

"Beautiful..." Nelson whispered to himself, getting a nod from Izzi standing next to him watching the _Alderaan_ carve through the fleet without any trouble.

"Captain, General Hyain just contacted us informing you that 'The floor is open if you wish to grab a dance.', sir." the main Coms officer reported.

"Inform him that I'm too polite to cut in, this dance is all his." Nelson replied as he watched with grim fascination at the sheer amount of firepower that the shields of the _Alderaan_ were taking and holding back, he could almost see the ripple and extra glow of all the combined impacts from his location halfway across the system.

"You built an _Executor_!?" a near shriek sounded behind Captain Nelson causing the man to turn and see an infuriated Hannah. "You of all people built one of those genocide boats!?"

"Yes." Nelson replied dryly. "Yes I did... do you have any idea how many ships and people that thing is saving on our side? How many less lives I have to worry about being killed in the line of action?"

"I thought you'd have prejudices against one of those murder cans after what happened at the Kuat Drive Yards all those years ago."

"If anything seeing that dreadnaught die at Zann's hands simply reminded me why I needed to get away... the Super Star Destroyer line in itself is not flawed, only the Imperial idiots who captain them are. I have faith that General Hyain will do well in keeping her safe." Nelson replied quietly, "Besides, we need that sort of firepower for the war..."

"War!? I leave one War to jump right into the middle of another one!?" Hannah exclaimed.

"Yes, a Reclamation War." Izzi replied while Joshua brought up the Galactic Map on the table again. "We're taking back what is rightfully mine, what belongs to my species; and this Black Moon is an obstacle to both my Reclamation efforts, and your Captain's colonization efforts."

"Colonization?" Hannah asked, looking back up at the Captain. "You mean you're seeding worlds in this galaxy?"

"In a way... thousands of people have been leaving the Outer Rim to get away from the fighting, the wars for a government to be overthrown by another one. People tired of the Jedi and Sith religious wars constantly tearing the Galaxy apart... I was able to promise them a different life, one where neither Sith nor Jedi lead a dominant part."

"Captain, the viewscreen." Joshua stated. As he did, Nelson turned to look at the carnage; 107 Black Moon ships, all either completely vaporized or shot so full of holes that they didn't even run life support. Fires were still burning on some ships as their atmospheres were slowly drained by the flames and the husks of enemy and a few friendly fighters drifted in pieces... the _Alderaan_ was unscathed, plowing through the debris field triumphantly to return home as rescue craft retrieved the bodies of fallen Eclipse pilots.

"A galaxy where I can offer protection and an equal life for anyone who seeks safe haven from the constant infighting between monks and zealots... My Galaxy." Nelson finished without turning back to Hannah as he watched the live feeds of his greatest creation move forward like a lazy and unstoppable god.

"Your galaxy?" Hannah asked. She did not however, get an answer, and slowly sank into herself a bit before reaching the door.

"Joshua will show you your quarters Hannah... it's nice to have you back safe and sound." Nelson said, again without turning, as his oldest friend left the bridge of his flagship, and the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy that he knew of floated towards them.

"You Galaxy?" Izzi inquired once she had left.

"Yes... my Galaxy... I don't care what's waiting out there, but I will take control; I will make order... I'll keep the peace and keep everyone safe. No religious wars, no having to deal with Force jockeys destroying planets, just a peaceful society where the Jedi are kept where they belong."

"And where do they belong?" Izzi asked with an almost amused tone.

"On the front line dying like the rest of us and earning their ranks instead of being treated like mortal gods who can't even be bothered with the common people."

"You sound like you have a big problem with Jedi..."

"And my problems with them are none of your concern." Nelson quipped.

"So it seems..." Izzi mumbled before looking back at the table. "I trust that we'll be hitting Beta soon?"

"Besh falls within 36 hours; the fleet is already being mustered as we speak and I already have commando teams there doing what they can to soften up the defenses."

"If I may... once in system, I can shut down the power systems that they use on that planet. The generators that your scouts report they use to power their defenses are the generators powering Beta-"

"Besh."

"Whatever, are the generators that are powering the temple on that Site." Izzi finished.

"And you can deactivate them?"

"Given the codes Zi had that I now possess, yes, I can once in the same system." he replied. Once finished, Nelson stroked his chin thoughtfully, running through the thought process and processing the new information and it's tactical advantage.

"The moment we're in system, pull the plug on their generators, we're making this an easy fight." Nelson finally said.

"Not exactly fair, though I can't complain." Izzi answered.

"I never want my boys to have to fight a fair fight." Nelson replied quietly getting a thoughtful nod from Izzi, and a grin from his bridge crew.


	8. Chapter 8

100 ships entered Besh System and held position outside weapons range of the enemy fleet at Nelson's orders. As they drifted a little, fighters streamed out, ready to swarm the enemy fleet when given the command like a tide of angry hornets with military grade stingers.

"Captain, we're receiving the hail." the Communications Officer announced.

"On screen." Nelson ordered. With a smirk he noted the man in an Admirals uniform on the screen. Full beard, bald head, over-sized rank insignia... this was going to be an amusing invasion.

"This is Admiral James Rink of the Lumarian Fleet; state your business and power down your weapons." the man many years Nelson's senior ordered, causing the Captain's smirk to simply become more pronounced.

"This is Captain Nelson of the Red Eclipse Pirates. We're taking over your planet; surrender and we won't have to kill everyone in orbit."

"Request denied captain." Rink replied in almost a growl, "We outnumber you 3 to 1 and we will not give up our homes so readily; leave the system or be destroyed."

As he said this the _Kindred Spirit_ fired her primary weapons at the ship taking out its shields and then gutting it instantly. Once the burning hulk that had once held Admiral Rink started plummeting towards the surface of Besh site, caught in the planets gravity well, the _Alderaan_ jumped out of hyperspace, guns at the ready but not firing just yet.

"All ships open fire! Do not let them take our homes!" whoever had assumed command blasted on an open channel, even to the Eclipse.

"Blast. All ships engage at will, _Alderaan_, punch through and make an opening for the ground invasion." Nelson ordered as his ships scattered and the Super Star Destroyer underneath his ship burst forward, shields flaring and weapons burning through enemy formations like a vibroblade through a piece of paper.

The _Kindred Spirit_ and her battle group accelerated towards the enemy fleet with dozens of fighters in the wake of the _Alderaan_. All of the Aggressors following Nelson's flagship opened fire as the enemy launched a salvo of missiles. Most impacted but a good number were shot down by the accompanying line of Crusader Corvettes.

"They're sloppy; too sloppy... Something isn't right. Joshua, scan the planet." Nelson ordered as he watched ship after ship of the 'proud' Lumarian Navy fall to his forces.

"No need sir; we're receiving a message from the planet." the AI replied, almost with a grin as an overweight man in strange robes that Nelson didn't recognize the design or even make of appeared on the main viewscreen.

"Captain Nelson... This is the System Governor of Lumaria; I'm going to advise you to leave before we are forced to destroy your force. Do you comply?" the Governor asked. Nelson could see he was sweating. So, being himself, he answered the man in the most dignified way to say no that he could without laughing at the theatrics that this man who had obviously never fought before was using.

"Bring it chubby."

"You leave us no choice then!" the man replied with a red face. He barked off screen for someone to fire some sort of high powered energy projector, but after five minutes of watching the Lumarian Navy fight back and keep being pushed back, nothing happened.

"I'm sorry sir, but I think I forgot to mention that we disabled your power supply." Nelson told the man with a laugh, "Your ships are the only things protecting you, and at this rate... well, prepare to meet me face to face, Governor." Nelson finished before cutting the feed. As if in reply to him ending the conversation, the _Kindred Spirit_ continued towards the lead ships, squeezing in between them and firing her broadsides. Both ships were systematically crippled and destroyed from the superior firepower of the _Spirit_ before they listed and sank into the planets gravity well, burning up upon reentry like so many before them.

* * *

After hours of brutal fighting, only a rough 25 ships of the once proud 350 ship Lumarian Defense Fleet were still combat capable. The rest were disabled or destroyed, venting atmosphere or still burning inside of Besh's atmosphere.

Captain Nelson looked on as his fleet, still mostly intact cleared the way as hundreds of landing craft made their way down to the surface, some dropping off troops and others announcing over large speakers that the civilian population would not be harmed if they stayed out of the way of the Eclipse armor and infantry moving through their streets.

One particular landing craft had a woman aboard. She was about five foot eight and wore simple robes, with what looked like a flashlight on her hip.

"Alright boys." Colonel Hannah Carlson said, "Leave civilians alone and wait until Nelson gets down here to make our move inside the Capital building. Got it?"

She was answered with a string of 'yes ma'am's as the side doors of the aging and heavily modified LAAT/i opened up, showing the city fly out from under them while they continued towards the largest building in the center of the main city.

Smoke was rising from random areas of the once proud metropolis where Lumaria military or citizens had attacked Red Eclipse soldiers and the men inside the gunship could see tanks and infantry all moving towards their target. Hannah smiled as the tactical AI in charge of her unit informed her of the casualty reports. Very few lives were lost on either side on the ground, the only problem was the Governor still being holed up tight inside his office with plenty of protection.

The gunship finally made it to the main building, surrounded by Canderous Assault Tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers, and multiple stationary gun emplacements that the Eclipse shock troops had set up, and let out its cargo; 20 Special Forces men and women being led by Jedi Colonel Carlson.

Moments later, two comets struck the side of the building, only these comets were made of metal and stayed dug into the side of the building as the tops flowered open and Captain Nelson stepped out in full combat gear, and Izzi beside him in his usual combat shell. With a smile that none of them could see, he brought up his com.

"I'm giving you one last chance Governor, let me and my men in so we can chat, and no one gets hurt. Or I can come in by force and not guarantee that the small security force at the front door survives..." Nelson told the plump official.

"I will not deal with terrorists!" came the curt reply. Nelson cut the channel the moment that the Governor uttered the word 'terrorist' and gave a few hand signals that Hannah didn't quite recognize. After about 30 seconds, there was no longer a window to the Governor's office and Nelson strode through with his security team and his AI partner to confront the now shaking man on the floor of his once proud office.

"I'm not a terrorist, I'm a pirate. Now, unto our negotiations. Izzi, it's your game. Sergeant! Round up the security team and tell the men outside to breach the building, take prisoners if they surrender and take them to the camps after stripping them of all gear." Nelson said while Izzi walked up to the Governor, still on the floor.

"Now, to begin wit-, wait, I'm picking up a transmission..." Izzi said before becoming deathly still. Suddenly, he jumped up and took off, jumping off of the building and commandeering the nearest gunship, speeding off towards the main Site that the city housed.

"Hannah, lets get moving; Sergeant! No one leave this room until I return. Joshua, where is Izzi heading?" Nelson said as he climbed into the cockpit of the nearest parked atmospheric fightercraft, Hannah taking the co-pilot's seat.

"The craft he took off in was heading towards... the Military Base stationed on top of Beta Site. We're getting some pretty freaky readings from Beta right now too..."

"Crap, more of this creepy bull-"

"Watch it." Hannah said.

"...Just shut up and strap in so I can do the more difficult maneuvers without killing you. The Lumaria Air Force is still in play outside the main city." Nelson muttered back as he pulled up, gunned the ship forward, and brought his TeamCom back online.

"Nelson to Izzi, come in! Repeat, Come in! What's going on out there?"


	9. Chapter 9

Izzi's radio was turned off, that much Nelson could tell. At the base the doors were wide open, seemingly torn to pieces. There was carnage everywhere indicating that Izzi wreaked some havoc on his way down to the Besh Site. In a large chamber, a generator like device occupied approximately 200 yards of space in both directions and in front of the massive block of inactive metal, Izzi was slumped down in front of it, still hooked in.

Two humanoids entered the building, but only one got close to Izzi.

"Izzi, can you hear me? What's going on? What is Besh Site for?" Nelson asked quietly, his hand on his partner's shoulder.

"Not a generator..." Izzi said quietly, barely above a whisper.

"...not a generator...then what the hell is this thing?"

"My people... oh my people..."

"Izzi? What's going on? What about your people...?"

"I... I... killed them..." Izzi finally replied after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Your people? You killed your species? How?"

Nelson went up to Izzi and held him up a little so he could see his face and hear him better. All he saw was pure fear and sadness.

"What happened, Brother?" Nelson asked. Izzi looked away for a moment, both out of fear and shame before finally overcoming the emotions he wasn't used to even being able to feel and looking back at the Captain.

"The generator wasn't just powering their defense systems..." the AI replied quietly, "It was also powering the Core. The Core which held all that remained of my people. All of their minds electronically stored. When I cut the power... it erased them all." he finished making Nelson's eyes go wide and Hannah to put her hands over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

Nelson looked at him, his eyes already wide before they somehow got bigger as something dawned on him.

"Not a just a generator... but an Archive too... Can they be recovered? Can we save them?"

"They will never regain consciousness, if that's what you mean. All that is left is meaningless information and memories."

"Dust in the wind..." Nelson said painfully as they both just stood there for a while one staring at the floor, the other at the ceiling... until Nelson broke the silence, much like he had many months earlier during their previous raid on Forn Site.

"Are the shells that held their minds still intact?"

"I suppose so." Izzi replied, his voice mirroring his hopelessness.

"Could we implant those memories into those shells?"

Izzi didn't respond and honestly, the machine didn't really look like he was paying attention. Nelson understood why, he was no stranger to grief. Of course before he could offer his condolences he was once again cut off.

"It wouldn't work. Essentially, their soul is gone." Izzi said solemnly causing Nelson's shoulders to slump down.

"Let's get you back to the _Kindred Spirit_, I can handle negotiations with the Governor; take time to recharge and think. If you'd like, after we recover all of their bodies, we can hold a funeral..."

"I... I would like that. Let's get me back, I need time to think." Izzi said as they all walked out to the landing craft that Izzi had taken and headed towards the capital while Nelson contacted his men.

"Nelson to Joshua. How are things up there?"

"Finished sir, negotiations are over, we control the planet. Though I am anxious to hear what this artifact is used for."

"I'll tell you when I get on board; get Hannah and the strike team back on the ship; we're leaving Besh Site." Nelson said quietly before looking out the main viewport at his fleet floating proudly in the safety of orbit before they disappeared from view inside of Hangar C. Once on board Nelson and Izzi went directly to the bridge.

"Sir if I may... what happened?" Joshua asked as the Captain entered the bridge.

Nelson went over to the AI's pedestal and told him the whole story. After a few momentsas he processed the information, Joshua simply nodded in solemn silence and added,

"Alderaan and Taris all over again sir..."

"I know..." Nelson replied before turning back to Izzi, "What now Izzi? Can you still use Besh for anything?"

"Storage space. Generator." the AI told him in his usual emotionless tone.

"Joshua..." Nelson said with a tired sigh, "Get us back to Aurek. Leave the fleet here to oversee colonization and rebuilding efforts."

"Aye sir, calculating jump now."

"Have the _Alderaan_ head back for Aurek as well. Izzi, take your time to do whatever you need, we won't be at Aurek for a day or so and we both need some time to cool off after..." Nelson trailed off, not really wanting to finish repeating the events of that day.

Izzi simply stared at the planet's readout on the holotable. Nelson looked at it too, and then to his partner as the stars behind him became lines and the _Kindred Spirit_ jumped into hyperspace.

"All the men on my ship know what it's like to lose their home and their race...Alderaan was a planet before we named a ship after it. As for grief, you will get over it but the wounds will take time to heal, though they never really heal fully..." Nelson said before Klaxons started to blare all over the _Kindred Spirit_.

"Status!"

"We're losing power! Engines are now at critical levels and we need to drop out of hyperspace." Lieutenant Dominguez announced.

"Drop a beacon for pickup and contact Torcille." Nelson said before a huge planetoid mass appeared a few million kilometers to starboard as they exited into normal space. The planet was almost the size of Forn Site and it looked almost as is it was... moving on its own power.

"Joshua what am I looking at?" Nelson asked as he walked up to the side viewport.

"Dorn Site, sir." Joshua replied, getting a smile from both Nelson and Izzi as they looked on.


	10. Chapter 10

The _Kindred Spirit_ floated in orbit as her engines were repaired, strangely enough, long range communications were knocked out by a hidden bomb on board too; a little surprise left by the Lumarian Military.

"Any idea how they got onto my ship Josh?"

"Most likely when we boarded, they sent stealthed infiltrators; they're either dead or have left by now..."

"And we're staring down the elusive Dorn Site in the face right now too. Repair status?"

"The engines can get us in and out of a planets atmosphere and gravitational pull, but hyperspace is not an option right now."

"Then go ahead and take us towards the area where we found the anomalies."

The massive ship was about to head down towards the planet when 3 ships appeared out of hyperspace directly in front of the _Kindred Spirit_; Black Moon Pirate vessels really close to the Nelson's flagship ready to blow her to pieces. One got exceptionally close and-

"Brace for impact! Joshua, activate the drills!"

-scraped the side of her, the enemy ship didn't have shields and ran straight into the now glowing starboard wing of the Aggressor-class destroyer. Slowly being cut in half on the way.

"Sir, weapons systems show a spike in energy!"

"Battle Stations if they aren't already there! Broadsides open fire, knock them out of the black; fighters and any other weapon we have left engage the other two ships, repeat; Engage and take out those other two ships!" the Captain ordered as his ship lurched again.

"What the hell is going on Joshua?!"

"More hits on our starboard shields, they're holding, but just barely."

"Alright; Izzi! Come in, sorry to put an end to your break time, but we're in deep. Get the _Omega_ and take her down to the surface, I can keep the other two ships busy and buy you some time." Nelson said over his shoulder as the _Spirit_ shuddered again.

"I'm afraid I must disagre-"

"Don't argue with me! The ship is on its way to becoming a piece of scrap and we need someone down on Dorn Site. Get down there and do what needs to be done, we'll hold out until reinforcements arrive, or failing that at least take these idiots with us." Nelson replied as part of the ceiling blew in, sending smoke and sparking wires through the breach. Right after, a bridge console detonated sending an officer to the floor.

"Status?!" Nelson barked as he sealed his suit to prevent coughing on the acrid smoke pouring in.

"Two ships are left, the _Omega_ is halfway out of the hangar, and we're taking one hell of a beating sir. If we hadn't been repairing ourselves when they jumped in, we would've won by now. 13 of our Broadsides are operational on the starboard side and 21 on the port, turbo laser batteries K-N are out of commission, 15 of our original 50 fighters are out of the fight, and we have one salvo of Concussion Missiles left."

"And the enemy forces?"

"Ship 2 is retreating so that she can bombard us from afar, she took the greatest beating from us. Ship 3 is coming in for another attack run even though she too is heavily damaged, that nuke didn't do as much damage as we had hoped it wou- Sir! 5 additional boarding parties are on their way!" Joshua announced.

Nelson didn't respond right away. It took him a few minutes to finally stand and wish his wounded officers well before walking out of the bridge and attaching his lightsaber to his hip as he gave Joshua one more order.

"Inform all men to defend to the last; we are _not_ losing my father's ship."

* * *

"Pull back! We're blowing the hangar!" Hannah shouted over the com as what was left of her security detail started moving backwards while she deflected what she could back at the tide of mismatched environmental suits with the Black Moon insignia sloppily painted on them.

"Ma'am! What about the-" one of her officers began to say before a plasma bolt melted off his visor and most of his face, killing the man instantly.

"Sithspit!" she cursed before raising her hand and choking the nearest 5 men to her with the Force and arcing lightning at the man who shot her lieutenant.

One of the Black Moon shock troopers noticed the Sith woman and raised his rifle. However, he only raised half of his rifle, and didn't have any time to notice this before his head landed on the floor right next to his helmet and body. Before the body hit the floor, Nelson was gone, disappeared into the crowd before cutting a swathe in the middle of the boarding party.

"All hands push forward! Shove these bastards out of the airlock if you have to!" he bellowed over the com channels as he finally revealed himself, saber in one hand and firing pistol in the other, his armor smoking in places where blaster bolts had gotten through his shields.

Hannah of course, was not really used to seeing her old friend this way, standing in the middle of a warzone and bringing attention to himself as well as nearly a company's worth of firepower right on his position as he continued popping off helmets and the occasional chunk of neck or shoulder armor.

"You heard him! Push forward!" she shouted as well before jumping up next to him, focusing on using her dual sabers to block anything that came near them. Needless to say, the morale boost this gave the Red Eclipse marines was enormous and they started fighting as though-

"Battle meditation!?" Nelson asked over the noise.

"One of the reasons Palpatine wanted to train me so badly!" Hannah quipped back as she bisected a Black Moon shock troop that got too close.

"And you didn't tell me soone-" Nelson began to say before everyone in the hangar was thrown to the floor.

"What the hell just happened, Joshua?!"

"Another Black Moon battle group just entered the system and opened fire." the AI replied with a surprisingly calm tone.

Nelson was about to give out orders when right in front of the open hangar bay, the _Alderaan_ and her heavy escort entered the system and started firing on the enemy pirates. The surviving boarders looked at the massive ship that was now decimating their ships, and then back to the Eclipse marines as Nelson walked up to the nearest one and pointed his pistol at the man's visor.

At once, 52 rifles hit the deck plating followed shortly by 52 sets of knees.

"Get a clean up crew here and have these prisoners moved to the _Alderaan_. This battle is over." Nelson said before executing the highest ranked Black Moon soldier on board. No one damaged his home and got away unscathed.


	11. Chapter 11

After being shot to ribbons by the Red Eclipse battle group and not being able to do any damage, the remains of the enemy fleet started to turn away from this display of superior firepower only to be fired upon as they retreated.

"They never learn do they... when facing the Red Eclipse we go down fighting to the last man so you better do the same..."

Nelson looked over the carnage and what remained of his ship; it was nearly destroyed but Dorn Site was theirs and they had won, but it still cost him half of his ship crew...

"Nelson to Base Camp, I'm going to oversee the start of repairs and then join you on the ground; any progress on opening or at least finding out what Dorn is?"

"Yes sir." a voice replied, most likely a science officer, "We'll brief you once you arrive."

"Right, Nelson out." the Captain said before sitting back in his chair. Or at least trying to before Joshua popped up on the screen.

"Sir, do you want the bad news?" the AI asked, causing Nelson to visibly flinch before his shoulders sank. The rest of his torso followed as he sank into his command chair and quietly looked up from the floor.

"Go ahead Joshua..."

* * *

Nelson entered the command center and went straight to the briefing room where Izzi and a few of his advisers were. Before anyone could ask anything he simply went up to the holotable.

"Half of my crew is dead and the _Kindred Spirit_ needs a full overhaul of everything. Now, what are we looking at?" he muttered before looking up at Izzi.

"I'm having trouble accessing the site remotely. There seems to have been some damage to the complex. I'll have to do it manually." Izzi said.

"And our scans indicate that the only resistance we should meet on the way are more guardians like the other sites, tough to kill but easy for Izzi to gain control of." Nelson responded.

"That is indeed the process... however, we have a small issue." Izzi said, "While you were busy with consolidating your ship's remaining crew and resources, the defense picket upstairs beat off a group of ships that were not Lumarian or Black Moon."

"And why is that an issue?" Nelson asked, raising his eyebrow.

"They were independent captains and bounty hunters. Apparently, Lumarians don't take kindly to full scale invasions on their colonies and have since, put a bounty on your head large enough to feed an entire system for a year." one of the other men added.

"We're keeping things on alert for now though." another adviser chimed in, a Colonel who was missing a chunk of his left ear, "With respect, we won't be letting the _Spirit_ fly anywhere by herself for the sake of your safety, Captain."

"Well... that's lovely news." Nelson replied after letting it all sink in for a few seconds. "Next I expect you'll be telling me that one of the bounty hunters is wanting an audience with me so negotiate a deal so he can get the bounty."

"No sir." they all replied, save Izzi, who was busy looking over the Site schematics on the table. He had been much more official and business-like with his actions and conversations since the incident at Besh Site. Nelson didn't blame him, though he was rather surprised that his creators would design him to feel grief or ever come close to killing the rest of his race.

"What is Dorn, anyway?" the Captain asked.

"That is something we'll find out inside of the complex. It could be anything from an archive to a weapons factory. For all we know it could be one large weapon." Izzi said, eyes, or at least whatever he used for eyes, glued to the schematics that they were able to get from the scans.

"I'll get a strike team prepared before heading back upstairs to oversee repairs." Nelson said quietly as he looked at his partner with a tinge of worry in his eyes before walking out of the command center.

* * *

"Sir, I'm picking up anomalies from the scanners." an ensign said as Joshua appeared on the table.

"Anomalies?" the AI asked, sounding almost bored.

"Yes, random parts of the ship seem to be giving off plasma energy signatures, but whenever we isolate them, they shut off and disappear." the man replied.

"That... is troubling... do a manual sweep of the entire ship with what men we have while the repair crews work. We'll do with what we can for now."

"Aye sir."

* * *

2 men and an AI in a cybernetic shell dismounted a Canderous Assault tank like they all had many times before. Each holding assault weaponry and a variety of equipment stored in their field packs while the male at the front of the group looked out over the landscape. The terrain didn't allow for vehicles to get anywhere near the Site entrance so they rode for as long as they could, but for now, it would be a hike to the facility.

_"Oh well, I needed a good workout anyway."_ the Lieutenant in charge thought as he hefted his rifle and slipped it onto his back. "Let's get a move on people, this Site isn't going to open itself." he barked as he started forward, the rest of the platoon following as Izzi kept pace next to him, making him feel uneasy.

It wasn't that the Lieutenant didn't trust the construct, it was just that he was a Twi'lek, and a distrust of any non-organics was deep seated in just about every Twi'lek who served the Red Eclipse after the Clone Wars. But, he had no say in the matter, so as long as Nelson trusted him, he and many others among the Eclipse military would too... for now.

* * *

"Have the search parties found anything?" Nelson asked as he walked off of the crew deck of the LAAT/i he had taken from the surface.

"No sir." an engineering lieutenant replied while trying to keep pace with his commanding officer, "Every time we isolate the signals, they disappear, and if we get close, they vanish and pop up somewhere else."

"Did any of those bounty hunters get close to the ship during the battle that I was not informed of?"

"No sir, nothing got close, not even on the radar." the man responded, still trying to keep pace as they entered a turbolift. "All crew are still accounted for on both sides so we still don't know what's going on."

"Well... we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" Nelson asked with a small grin that made the man next to him both smile and get suddenly very nervous. The rest of the ride up to the command deck was quiet until Nelson started stepping out of the turbolift.

"Do a double check on everything, we don't want anything catching us in a wheelchair. Clear?"

"Aye, Captain." the engineer replied, striking a salute until the door closed in front of him. Nelson on the other hand kept walking, giving a slight gesture to the few men on the bridge as they stiffened before one could shout the obligatory 'Captain on deck!'. He hated the formality of the job but it was a price worth the rank, though it still got on his nerves even if this batch was a just a squad of repair techs while the main crew was getting some well needed rest.

"No news downstairs, Captain." Joshua said as Nelson made his way to the command chair.

"And those anomalies?"

"Still fluctuating randomly and impossible to pin dow- wait a moment... they all just spiked."

"Clarify." Nelson ordered, sitting up in his chair a little and leaning towards Joshua's avatar on the main screen.

"As in almost like a detona-" Joshua said before the ship lurched to the right. From one of the viewports, Nelson saw a purple and blue cloud come off of one of the starboard guns, leaving a gaping hole in the turret.

"Reaction teams to stations! Everyone hunker down, we'r-" Nelson started to say before another explosion rocked the ship, and then another, and then suddenly his work was pure white.

The entire front section of the bridge was blown to pieces, rapidly decompressing the room as Joshua closed all doors and vents leading to it. Nelson's helmet closed as soon as Joshua reacted and sent the command signal to his armor which ended up saving his life. The rest of the men and women on the bridge though were not quite so lucky. Those that managed to hang on and not get blasted out to space had trouble getting to the emergency helmets, those that did helped the others while Nelson hobbled to his feet.

"Explosives... they must have had a cloaker move in during the fight. Joshua, scan for any... remaining..." Nelson tried to order before his words simply left him. In front of him, climbing through the gaping hole in what was the control center of his ship, were members of an alien species he had never seen before, and behind them, a large ship of a completely unfamiliar design seemed to materialize out of the vacuum. All Nelson could manage at that point was a single word that summed up his entire analysis of the situation.

"Sithspit."


	12. Chapter 12

Large, that's what they were, large and determined. At least that's what they had to be to continue rushing Captain Nelson as he continued to dismember each 'thing' or whatever they were in the boarding party in front of him. He didn't think about it, he just hacked away at whatever wasn't familiar until there was nothing left to hack at.

"Scan the bodies... find out what you can..." Nelson ordered between heavy breaths as he looked down at one of the more intact bodies.

These creatures averaged 2.5 meters in height, but their weight didn't match their height. Their skin was an exoskeleton and they only had 3 fingers, including an opposable thumb. Needless to say these bastards were ugly as hell once you got the helmet off. Disproportionally sized heads compared to their massive bodies. Over-sized eyes compared to their mouth, though the fact that it was a mouth was only given away by the fact that the empty hole near what resembled a chin had sharp teeth inside.

"Semi-compound eyes and no noses either..." Nelson mused quietly to himself before kicking the nearest severed head out of the bridge and into the empty vacuum of space where the rest of the bridge was floating in pieces.

"Joshua, get me a damage report." Nelson ordered silently as the new ship continued to float in space just barely a hundred kilometers away.

"The _Spirit_ is going to need a full two day overhaul at the dockyards at Aurek Site, or 'New Mandalore' as the populous recently agreed on." Joshua replied, causing Nelson to smirk a little; a fitting name to the capital planet of a rising military republic. "Engines, down; weapons, almost gone; shields are recharging and are still at full strength; the explosives didn't hit the shield generator. Stealth measures compromised due to newly added hull breaches here, here, and-"

"Here... I know..." he said as he looked at what was left of his bridge.

"We're also being hailed by the enemy vessel."

"Put it on sc-" Nelson started before letting out a sigh, "On the holotable please, Joshua..."

* * *

It had taken them almost a full hour of running through brush, but the team finally made it to the main door. Again, the doorway seemed to be larger than what it needed to be but that wasn't for them to complain about, especially since unlike all the other Sites, the door to this one swung open easily after Izzi input his security codes.

That was when the easy part stopped.

The team made their way inside and barely got two steps in before the doors slammed shut so loudly that most of the members of the strike team almost fell over from the shockwave of sound. It took them a few minutes to all fully recover and be able to hear each other again, but by that times, lights all along the facility started turning on.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." one of the few women, a corporal who was the team's heavy weapon specialist, said quietly.

"That's a lot of lights." The Lieutenant said as they started walking down the main hallway.

"Not lights..." Izzi corrected, "Holorecords... millions of them. But... if this is a Library then there should be guardians keeping this knowledge safe should anyone break in.

"Do those count?" the Twi'lek Lieutenant asked, raising his rifle and taking aim at a few large metal machines hovering towards them a few meters above the ground. They was about 2 meters all around and looked somewhat like an Imperial Interrogation droid, just minus the random bulges of torture devices and three glowing blue eyes instead of a single large red one.

It wasn't until the bottom of the triangle of lights on one of them started getting brighter that the entire team realized that each machine only had two eyes. They all scrambled for cover as a beam of pure white energy blasted the ground where they were only moments before and continued on for a few feet before the Guardians turned to try and find their lost prey.

"Yes, Lieutenant." Izzi replied over the team's com channel, "Those count."

* * *

The talks with the Crandolian leader were interesting, to say the least. As it turned out, the aliens Nelson had killed were only the warrior caste of this strange insectoid species. The hierarchs and commanders looked more like humans than the rest of their species and even had eyes resembling humanoid ones.

The only main difference was that their skin was still chitinous and their legs hinged backwards.

"Still creeps me out a little." Nelson muttered.

"As does your form, Captain Nelson." Captain Hrrkkril (Or simply Kril for when his name was uttered by an 'inferior species'), "But that doesn't mean I'm still not willing to work out a deal, you need only be reasonable."

"Reasonable doesn't cut it. You've already seen that we can take out your shields and your ship; give us the information we want and we'll let you get out with your lives and a nice bit of spending money." Nelson quipped back for what must have been the fifth time in the last hour.

"We do not reveal that kind of information lightly, Nelson." Kril replied. getting a scowl that he couldn't see thanks to Nelson's visor.

Luckily, that wasn't the only thing that Kril couldn't see. Joshua was busy while the negotiations were taking place. While most of him remained on the _Kindred Spirit_, a good amount of his intrusion software was busy going through every file the _Lover's Quarrel_, or at least that's what he thought it translated to, had in its archives, including the location of the Lumarian home world, and the Crandolian hive.

One piece of information stuck out though, a footnote in the historical records that had the same date stamp as many other files he had sifted through in Lumarian and even Black Moon systems.

_"A cataclysm... or great war... same as with the others."_ the AI thought while part of him continued to collect data. _"All saying it was lead by a creature of great power of mind... The Abyss... interesting; I'll examine it in full later."_ he continued, giving the AI equivalent of a smile and then going on his merry way towards the ship's systems to wreak some havoc the only way he knew how.

* * *

"If we cannot reach an agreement then I'm afraid force will have to do." Captain Kril finally said, the exasperation in his tone painfully obvious.

"Very well then..." Nelson replied before looking at Joshua. "Get all the files they had?"

"Every file they had in their archives. I'll also be shutting down their shields in five seconds, sir." Joshua said, his avatar grinning. Kril's on the other hand, looked more panicked than anything. That was until the transmission cut and the _Kindred Spirit_ was buffeted by a large explosion, courtesy of the 14th Starfighter Squadron based on the _Alderaan_. 'Double Dealers' was the name they chose to call their squadron, Nelson never understood why but he was glad that a newer squadron finally got a notable kill.

Explosions always did seem beautiful to him in space.

* * *

"Keep running! I'll try to find the security terminal!" Izzi ordered over the coms as he continued to sprint.

"Someone get us on the horn with the fleet and get us some reinforcements!" someone yelled, he couldn't tell who though, he was busy searching for that damn terminal to shut the Guardians down. It took him a full two minutes of the platoon running and hiding before he was able to update everyone's HUDs with the proper coordinates and finally open a channel to Nelson.

"Captain? Nelson, are you there?" he asked.

"I'm here, we had another spot of trouble up here but it was taken care of. Have you found out what Dorn is yet?

"Yes, actually." Izzi replied, "Your race has a long standing joke about librarians and silence, yes?"

"For the most part...why?" was the answer Izzi got.

"I do not find it funny anymore." he said, taking a peek from around their hiding spot and immediately ducking back down as another Guardian floated past. "I do not find it funny at all."


	13. Chapter 13

Another explosion ripped through the stale air and sent stone or metal, the Lieutenant couldn't tell which with the way the Omega Initiative built their structures, but that wasn't important. What _was_ important was getting the droid to the security terminal at the end of this guarded hallway. They had already weaved in and out for almost an hour trying to sneak to the control center, but that had been met with mixed results.

He heard someone scream as part of the floor shredded into them. Make that horrible results.

"Who got hit?!" the Lieutenant asked.

"Pulkel!" the team medic replied, "Torpa... he lost his arm."

Tropa winced, he knew it was more common than people would like to admit, but it still stung whenever it happened on his watch. He was the Lieutenant in charge, after all.

"Seal the wound and keep moving with him, we can't get help if we're dead." the Lieutenant ordered. "Izzi, how much farther?"

"We're just a few meters away, one more holorecord case and we're 'home free' I believe the organic phrase is."

"It is, but not until we get out of this damn library alive." the twi'lek quipped before his ears were drowned out with the sound of another detonation.

* * *

"You know I hate being away from her, Howard." Nelson groaned as he continued to pace on the bridge of the _Iron Will_.

"It's only for a few days, sir. Then you can be back on her bridge blasting away at Lumarians and bug people personally." the older man replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"They were creepy as hell, Howard. I'd rather spar with Hannah while she's pissed at me."

"That can almost be arranged, Ed." the distinct voice of Hannah chimed in from behind them. "Just because your ship is in drydock for the next week doesn't mean you and I aren't practicing when we get the chance."

"Should I consider it an order, ma'am?" Nelson replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. That sarcasm disappeared however, when she bolted forward sabers blazing. Nelson barely had time to block the sudden attack as he deflected blows for a good minute before her face was just centimeters from his and he felt a lightsaber hilt press against his chin.

"Yes, my dear Eddy, you should." she replied with an almost playful tone before turning and walking away like nothing happened.

"You sure she's not Mando'ade." Jacobs asked.

"I've asked myself that many times..."

* * *

"There! I've got it!" Izzi announced as he input the security clearance codes to the main terminal. At once, the Guardians that had cornered them ceased charging their weapons and moved down to the team's level to get a closer look.

"Thank Force..." Torpa whispered. Three had been injured, including Pulkel losing his arm, he didn't need to add deaths to that number.

"And you're sure it's a library of some sort?" the second officer asked, a Sergeant Major by the name of Thire.

"Absolutely, and if it had such tight security then it must have some of the most important secrets of my race buried away in the archives." Izzi replied in a tone that Torpa almost thought was glee. His suspicion was confirmed when a large holographic blueprint of the Archive sprang up from the floor right underneath him. He ducked and rolled out of the way before looking back and seeing Izzi's robotic face beaming.

"My brothers..." the AI said quietly, "They live."

* * *

Edward Nelson never fancied himself as a duelist, he was more of a shoot you in the back or face kind of man. However, that was before Hannah started training him on how to swing a lightsaber so that he would have even less of a chance of getting killed on the battlefield.

_"Bullshit."_ he thought while deflecting another blow and rolling backwards, landing in a crouch, _"My chances are the same as any other grunts' if I fight on the front line, having a saber doesn't do anything unless you're a Sith, or worse, a Jedi."_

"Focus!" Hannah shouted as she landed another blow, this one coming very close to actually hurting him.

"Trying." he grunted, kicking her in the stomach and swinging again. Why she insisted on using active lightsabers to train with, he never understood. Though it was to be expected since she was already training what force sensitives she could find among the Eclipse.

She lashed out again, aiming at his arm which he quickly contracted and struck out with towards her saber hand. He missed and almost lost his hand. It was another five minutes of sparring like this, blow and counter blow while maintaining eye contact throughout until both sabers were on opposite sides of the sparring ring and the two warriors were at a stalemate; Nelson with Hannah in a choke hold, and Hannah holding a hidden vibroknife to his gut.

"I think... we got out of hand..." Nelson said, panting.

"Just like on Taris..." Hannah replied, equally out of breathe. It took them a little while to untangle themselves and sit down together in a heap.

"I think I'm getting better." Nelson finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Only because you aren't afraid to cheat." Hannah quipped back with a smirk.

"I hate to break up the conversation, sir, but Izzi is wanting to chat face to face with you on the bridge." Ordo, the shipborne AI of the _Iron Will_, said over the intercom before the Captain could retort.

"About?"

"Dorn, sir. They've shut down the security inside and discovered what it was, Izzi requested that I not spoil the surprise."

"I'll be right there." Nelson said, standing with a groan and helping Hannah up. They both exchanged a small nod and she gave another smirk before he finally went on his way and another student came in to train with her.

* * *

"Is your comrade still functioning?" Izzi asked him.

"Barely, but he'll live." the team medic replied. "I was lucky I could cauterize the wound as fast as I did, but there's not chance of reattachment when we get back to base."

"My apologies for his loss of limb on this trip."

"Worth it if this Archive holds what you say it does, sir." the medic responded without looking up. Izzi thought about replying but his matrices finally computed that no other responses would generate a positive or neutral reaction from the man so he let it be. That was until Nelson appeared on the secondary holoprojector with his arms crossed with Commander Jacobs standing next to him.

"I trust you have good news, Izzi?" he asked.

"Indeed I do, sir. Joshua has most likely brought you up to speed about the casualties but I assure you that the price is well worth what we have found Delta to be." Izzi stated, the hologram behind him lighting up again. "This building is an Archive. More specifically, a backup."

"Backup?" Jacobs asked.

"Yes, Commander, of every major genius my race ever had. And while we can't revive them into bodies, we can revive them into something more useful. How effective does your droid brain AI make your flagship, Captain?"

"Extremely." Nelson deadpanned, "Why?"

"We have the capability, with the right hardware, to make that standard throughout the fleet down to the last corvette. We have the capability to make your fleet the most advanced navy in this galaxy." Izzi replied, causing Jacobs' eyes to widen, and Nelson's mouth to curl into a pure and almost feral smile.

"Izzi, the timing could not be more perfect. How long until we can phase these AIs into the fleet?"

"By the time the your flagship is out of drydock and ready to fight again, we will have the Archive cleaned out and the minds ready for transfer."

"Good, because we've found the Lumarian home world; it's Xesh Site."

"Omega..." Izzi whispered, his face lighting up a little, "I take it you're planning a full invasion?"

"That I am, and these AIs will turn the battle in our favor. We'll discuss this more when you get aboard but I can go ahead and tell you, this is going to be big."

"Aye sir. We'll start moving the AIs as soon as the rest of the technical crews get here."

"Good to hear it... one more thing before I go though; how many 'minds' are in that Archive, anyway?" Nelson asked.

"According to the records..." Izzi replied, moving back up to the main console and plugging one of his interface tools in, "Millions, Captain. Millions."


	14. Chapter 14

Three weeks. Three simple weeks. And yet in those short weeks, the _Kindred Spirit_ was back in fighting shape courtesy of the Aurek Orbital Shipyards. Ships of all sizes were either being churned out or refitted with the tactical AIs they had available and much to Nelson's surprise, word had somehow gotten out that the Red Eclipse was taking in refugees from this galaxy that were being displaced by Black Moon and Crandolian expansionist movements.

Needless to say the turnout was huge and the fleet was getting manned by young men and women more than willing to put up a fight for their new homes.

"The distance, even at lightspeed, would take months of travel to cross." Izzi stated.

"Probably why they made this particular planet house Xesh, Izzi." Joshua replied, his avatar looking over the representation of Xesh Site and the surrounding asteroid belt. Quietly he highlighted a single region while the fleet numbers and troop strength icons appeared at random intervals around and on the planet.

"Latest intelligence from intercepted chatter and what we could find at Besh puts the opposition at nearly 300 capital ships ranging from .5 to 1 kilometer in length. Shields are not standard throughout the Lumarian Navy but I have a feeling that all of the Primary Defense Fleet will be equipped with the best they have to offer." an intelligence offcer said, putting his datapad down on the table, "We're looking at an invasion fleet of 300 ships and the _Alderaan_ just to make way for the ground invasion of the capitol."

"No one said this would be easy." Nelson replied, "Though we did get lucky that they built their capitol around the main Xesh complex so the occupation force will just need to secure on city and hold it while the fleet keeps the skies clear."

"Colonel Carlson will also be leading however many saber-jockeys she has trained within that ten month period into battle on the surface. Commando Squads A-F have already left as well to clear the way a little for us. They will have three days to get in, place a few cakes in the oven, and then wait for you signal to blow the ovens up." Joshua added, getting a grin from those in the briefing room, even if most of them were just holographic representations of Nelson's fleet commanders.

"It's settled then. We'll jump in on the edge of the system and then jump again right outside targeting range. After that we move in at sublight to draw their fleet away and have the _Alderaan_ move in on the flank. Hyain, once you get into the fight, you'll be taking a third of the fleet on yourself." Nelson explained.

"Not a problem sir, she can handle that without even losing her shields." Hyain replied, crossing his arms and nodding.

"Jacobs, you'll be the two of this 'one-two punch'; Battle Group 97-G, a newer one comprised of greenhorns has been begging for a serious fight and when we asked if they wanted to be the spearhead, they agreed. Losses will be heavy but they don't seem to mind. You'll move in with 66-B deliver the hard hit. 97-G will pull back after that and either redeploy or head back to Aurek so you'll be losing some backup."

"Permission to request a squadron of Vengeance frigates to back my battle group up." Jacobs said as he looked over at Nelson.

"Granted, but they'll be newer crews and only 10 of them."

"I can work with that." the Mandalorian officer replied.

"The rest will be determined once we get there. This intel is still pretty old so I'll be transferring tactical control to Captain Torcille once we get troops on the ground; Hyain will maintain independent command of the _Alderaan_ throughout the battle; you know the emergency codes to override that protocol."

"Getting the surrender in person, sir?" Torcille asked.

"And checking out this Site with my own eyes and a smaller strike team. For Izzi it's labeled the last letter of that alphabet, Omega; usually the last one has something more important than all the others in it." the Captain replied before shutting the holotable off and looking at the holograms of his officers. "Any questions?"

"Yeah." Jacobs said, "When do we leave?"

* * *

"This is quite ambitious, Nelson." Izzi said as they walked towards the bridge.

"War is not a practice in moderation or limited thinking." Nelson quipped back, "And the sooner we nip the Lumarian Navy in the bud, the better off this war will be for us."

"Has it been named, Captain? The war, that is."

"As of right now, it's simply The Reclamation War, but for all we know in a few years it may be renamed to The First Reclamation War or something like that. We're only a year in with six Sites, soon to be seven." Nelson replied, stopping in he middle of the hallway and looking at his AI partner, "We're changing the way this galaxy operates and pretty soon, I'll need to assemble a council just to keep all of our colonies in line; after that we have to establish borders, start trading..."

"This invasion isn't just about the Site, is it?" Izzi asked, all of his arms crossing in front of his chest.

"No, no it's not. This is also about forcing their hand." the Captain admitted, "If we take out their fleet and with a show of force, march into their capital city, then we can get the bounty removed, end hostilities, and maybe even start up trade with the Lumarians. The Crandolian Empire already has a bounty out for Red Eclipse ships and personnel and I don't need a two front war."

"Understandable... trading lanes and intelligence gathered during peace time would be valuable, and any Sites they have colonized would no longer require an invasion force to access."

"It will save lives."

"You keep telling yourself that, and yet I never understand why." Izzi responded, getting a slight glare from Nelson. After a short but awkward silence, Nelson started walking again.

"War is never pretty, and while 'glory' may come of victories, it still scars men and leaves families torn up."

"You speak from experience?"

"I lost my brother during the Galactic Civil War back in my old galaxy. While I worked for Zann, he decided to help the Rebel Alliance take the fight to the Empire. He was on a Mon Calamari cruiser named _Liberty_ during the Battle of Endor as a point defense gunner... the ship was completely destroyed."

"You wish to keep this fro-"

"The Galactic Civil War cost the galaxy over 3 billion civilians, and was still ongoing when we left. I am _not_ letting that happen here."

"I... concur... sentient loss of life is tragic most of the time..." Izzi replied, "And so this invasion... you're spending lives to save more?"

"The needs of the many..." Nelson muttered.

"Pardon?" Izzi asked.

"Just an old saying, Izzi, nothing to be concerned with."

"I'll tend to the shock droids, then." Izzi replied. It wasn't until the AI was in a turbolift heading towards the cargo bay that Nelson visibly shuddered. He was ok with using droids, but an entire company of droid shock troops led by anyone still made him worry.

_"I guess the Clone Wars had a bigger effect than any of us would like to think..."_

* * *

The new AIs were temperamental at best as far as Joshua was concerned. Temperamental and self-entitled thanks to their past lives, and the veteran AI hated any new AI that he viewed as an upstart. Regrettably he was told to play nice and not be his ruthless self when keeping them in line so he relied on the ship captains to get used to these new intelligences and keep their collective leashes short.

_"Paladin especially..."_ Joshua thought as he looked back at the quarantine field he had in place around one particular AI. Paladin, his avatar was that of a Sith Trooper from the Jedi Civil War that he had seen while going through the history archives with the rest of the AIs they had managed to transport to Aurek. He had attempted to hack into the secure military files, one file set in particular containing the private dossiers of Captain Nelson, Colonel Carlson, Captain Torcille, and Commander Jacobs that Naval Intelligence didn't want anyone accessing.

_"And he actually thought he could get in. Pathetic."_ he mused, his behavioral algorithms pulsing a little in satisfaction. Paladin had just gone into standby mode and was finally ready for processing and repurposing; another victory for Joshua.

* * *

"Are the preparations complete?" Nelson asked as he took his seat in the command chair.

"Aye sir, all systems are green and the fleet is forming up. Last minute shuttle arrivals are boarding where they need to and the new orbital defense platforms are finally combat ready." Joshua replied, his avatar popping up on the holobank embedded in the arm of Nelson's chair.

"Good, here's hoping they work as well as Izzi says they will. Speaking of, is he still in the cargo bay?"

"Still working on improving his company of droids, yes."

"Then get us ready to jump." Nelson ordered before nodding at the communications officer, "All hands, prepare for the jump in 60."

As one, a truly massive fleet of almost 400 ships ranging from Crusader corvettes to the _Alderaan_ herself moved into position with the _Kindred Spirit_ at the front of the formation. On the Aurek behind them, civilians saw hundreds of new stars as the engines of each ship started to glow brighter at random as hyperdrives spun up in preparation for the jump.

"Light speed on my mark, gentlemen..." Nelson said, standing up and walking to the main viewscreen and then back at the holotable where Joshua was watching. Edward Nelson closed his eyes for a moment before looking at the stars, noting the smallest one directly in front of him and took a rather deep breath.

The breath before the plunge.

"Mark."


	15. Chapter 15

Lance Corporal Jeral Het-Dai was not having a good day. Lance Corporal Jeral Het-Dai was not having a good month, actually, and if this campaign lasted any longer, it would be a bad year. It had been a full year since he had been mustered aboard the _Alderaan_and two months since he had taken a drop pod to the surface of Xesh Site's capital city, named after the Lumarian Admiral who founded their culture, Fentok.

Another explosion ripped open the street a few feet away from him and sent shrapnel glancing off of his helmet, making him and the rest of the platoon he was with duck for cover. The platoon was a mismatch of units from the first wave of the invasion force that had all lost 75 to 85% of their squadmates during the initial Lumarian counter attack and weren't able to fall back without getting killed.

Needless to say they'd all be getting medals for this. It was platoons and even full companies like this holding their ground that allowed the second and third waves to not only surround the city, but set up base camps and quarantine the city from the rest of the planet without being shot at, which meant being set up in hours instead of days.

Afterwards, the main body of the army caught up and relieved these forces unless they wanted to be back in the fight, in which case they simply rearmed them.

_"What the hell was I thinking?" _Het-Dai thought before small arms fire zipped by overhead.

"What the hell are they firing at us?!" Someone barked over the roar of another artillery shell landing nearby, this one silenced the rifle fire; the platoon would have cheered for the misfire, but even since the days of the Mandalorian Wars, death by friendly artillery fire was still a possibility and every soldier tended to feel sorry for victims of those incidents despite sides.

"Solid slug rounds with explosive heads!" one of the women in the platoon replied. "Intel after the first few weeks saw that these guys use some pretty ancient stuff during ground combat!"

"Location!?" the lieutenant in charge, a Twi'lek by the name of Torpa, asked.

"Flyboys have already marked its location but we have another gun battery two blocks to the east putting pressure on the shock troops moving up the main road!" the woman replied, doing her best to shout over the artillery drowning out everyone's voices despite the com units inside their helmets. "Looks like Nelson wants artillery off of his ass, LT!"

"Then get moving! Double time and don't lose your heads!" Torpa barked, crouching and running with the rest of the platoon behind him.

* * *

Hundreds of ships littered the space in geosynchronous orbit around the capital city of Fentok. The _Alderaan_floated in the center of the carnage, her shields still shimmering from a small attack and a few scorch marks on her hull courtesy of the first week of fighting. The remaining ships in the Lumarian fleet had fled to the far side of the planet, towing whatever ships they could while the Red Eclipse fleet finished off the wounded ships they could find before tending to their own repairs.

The combat had been brutal over the past 2 months, battle groups of 5 to 10 ships in-system jumping into combat, in the neutral space around the planet, most of the time retreating after a few hours of combat to initiate repairs again and let another battle group try to gain some space from the others.

247 of the Lumarian's original 492 was left in fighting shape while the Eclipse was busy working with 197 fighting capable ships, including the _Kindred Spirit_, _Iron Will_, and _Alderaan_. Over a hundred thousand men and women had been lost on each side and the skirmishes continued to happen daily.

There were no more Lumarian Admirals left after their reinforcements arrived from other colonies and were systematically destroyed.

"Sitrep." General Hyain ordered quietly.

"Still no losses today, fightercraft have kept superiority in any engagements and ground based AAA has been disabled by the army." one of the Ops officers responded.

"Any new orders from Captain Nelson?"

"We're to continue to hold position and sending out battle groups to keep the fleet busy. No new orders since his division started the final push."

"Noted. Send in the next wave of fighter support to the city and get another bombing run authorized." Hyain ordered. He was not one to sit still and wait, that's why he was put in command of the _Alderaan_in the first place. He was able to work in peace time but with the enemy fleet just on the other side of the planet, holding position for almost a month was driving his nerves.

_"Here's hoping they take the Site within the week..."_he thought, putting his hands behind his back and letting out a sigh. 19 kilometers of fleet killing force, and he wasn't allowed to use it...

Yet.

* * *

"Artillery units are slackening, General, their commando teams are taking them out and ours... have been terminated." a pale looking Lumarian Colonel reported, the holotable flickering as a plasma shell landed nearby. "My men are under constant fire, we'll hold to the last man but we just can't hold out much longer without sup-" he added before the the sound of fightercraft was heard, plasma fire joined the noise, and the feed cut to static.

In the distance, General Carter saw an explosion and the contrails of Eclipse fighters where his colonel was reporting from. Another officer down and the last line of defense inside the city most likely running.

"Start locking down the complex and pull any men we can back." he said, his tone solemn.

"General, that puts us at barely over 500 men defending the building, and that's only if they all manage to pull back without casualties." a Lieutenant replied, looking over the tactical readouts.

"Then we'll make due."

"Sir, if I may-"

"Surrender is not an option and I will not consider it." Carter replied. He would not lose their home without making the Eclipse pay dearly for every inch.

* * *

"Nice work, Lieutenant, meet up with the 71st and prepare for the final push; they're pulling back quickly and I want to end this today." Nelson said, looking down at the holographic figure of Torpa in his hand. Torpa simply saluted before the feed cut and Nelson stood up again. They had taken a few blocks in the last hour alone and with all the enemy artillery out of commission or captured and firing on the main government building, his hope for the battle to end today was looking more and more like a genuine possibility.

He looked back at the entire battalion taking cover behind him, then glanced at the company of men and Force users in front keeping the enemy from rushing them. They were definitely ready for this two month long bloodshed to end.

"Alright boys, time to finish this. Keep your lines of fire clear and no taking stupid chances. Do this all by the book and we all go home with medals, citations, and promotions! Move!" Nelson barked, running forward saber in hand.

As one, his men followed behind him, saber jockeys at the front deflecting the odd round that came towards the formation while they all, Nelson included, let out a war cry. The already retreating Lumarian soldiers turned what was supposed to be an organized retreat into a full on rout back to the looming structure down the street.

Half of them were shot as they ran, those who were only wounded by the volley of blaster fire ran or crawled before simply giving up and surrendering as the tide of black armor and Red Eclipse emblems ran past, only a handful of men staying behind to police the prisoners and take them back to base.

"Keep pressing! Don't stop!" Nelson shouted, as a blaster bolt deflected off his chest armor. He flinched a little before curling in on himself and kneeling. The armor was able to withstand blasts to the chest but not completely.

"Ed!" he heard a woman exclaim.

_"Probably a medic or junior officer..." _he thought before Hannah came into his field of vision, her hand over his chest.

"I've got you." she said before he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Force healing, or at least he assumed so given he couldn't see her expression past the reflective visor.

"Thanks..." he grunted, looking up past her and smiling a little. Someone had dragged along a Red Eclipse banner and planted it on the wall. It was a little tattered but the message was clear as more started to pop up on the walls.

Fentok was theirs.

* * *

One mile down below the surface of the city, buried beneath the main Site Complex, was a cryogenic sarcophagus. As the battle raged above, the machinery continued to work in overdrive to keep the facility running but it was still strained to keep the being in the tube contained.

The systems finally failed and the hatch of the pod blew open. Steam billowed out as a clawed hand gripped the side and pulled the rest of the being inside up.

"Time... I've been away... for a long time..." it growled, standing. It was a blur, having no definite shape or dimensions, as it tried to break out of the room it was stuck in. Luckily for the people on the surface above, the room was made to keep it trapped in the event of a cryo pod failure.

It, he, more accurately, held his 'head' for a moment as memories began to come back to him.

"Omega! Those bastards trapped me... those... one... one of them is here... one of them survived..." he growled, his form shifting into something solid. He assembled himself into something that struck fear into the last Omega Initiative soldiers he faced, hopefully after being out cold for a thousand years didn't change them much.

"No one captures me..." Abyss said quietly, his pale yellow eyes finally opening, "No one; and I _will_ make them pay... all of them."


	16. Chapter 16

The hardest part of the entire campaign was pulling out. Losses for the Red Eclipse had been huge in space and significant on the ground. Now they were pulling back while the fleet started taking wounded and ship husks on the ten month hyperspace trip back to Aurek. No military forces stayed on the ground and the _Kindred Spirit_only kept a single battle group with her as she hovered above Fentok.

By the time the peace talks had started, only Izzi, Hannah, Captain Nelson, and four personal guards remained. The Eclipse had castrated the Lumarian military with this attack and came away with a limp, but it was still able to walk away and fight on. Nelson was even feeling better, though he still had trouble moving at times despite the healing.

"Regardless, we just want what's in the complex beneath this building, gentlemen." Nelson said, what was left of the Lumarian command staff staring at him with both contempt and fear while Izzi continued to sift through the archives for technical data.

"It's not like we're in much of a position to refuse…" one of the officers replied.

"Especially with our military crippled; you killed most of our command structure."

"That wouldn't have happened if men like Carter had taken the chance to surrender before we stormed this place." Hannah quipped. "Our men shoot to kill, especially when artillery has been pissing them off for the better part of two months." She added, to which the officers simply scowled.

"I want the bounty on my head revoked, as well as trade and military agreements between our two governments." Nelson told them. "Refusal carries no penalties but know that we will expand and we will be keeping any worlds with Omega Initiative Sites on them as they're property of my robotic friend back there."

"We've had claim to this world and others for hundreds of ye-"

"And my race created them three millennia ago." Izzi interjected. "And they left me behind to take the secrets in these Sites for our race. We have had claims long before your race developed the ability to travel between systems. And I will be damned if I let the technology of my people fall into the hands of those unworthy to use it."

* * *

"It blocks mental powers… same as my casket…" Abyss muttered, hitting the wall as hard as he could again. No doors were made; the chamber was built to keep him trapped and keep everyone out so that no one could accidentally set him free.

_"Typical Omega construction, they'll put a frog in a box to bring home to mommy but won't put holes in the top so it can breathe."_he thought, beating on the wall again. He had been at this for days and had only gained marginal ground, maybe a foot deep dent had been made in the wall, though all he needed was a small enough hole to fit an arm through and he'd be able to phase out of this tomb no problem.

"And that stupid robot is still up there somewhere… just how to get to him is the problem…"

* * *

"So what is in Xesh, anyway?" Nelson asked as the lift continued to descend into the depth of the planet.

"If I'm reading the records right, some sort of teleportation device that may or may not be portable… though the archives also spoke of the prison area of this complex that needed to not be disturbed, so we must tread lightly."

"That's encouraging." Hannah muttered quietly, leaning against the lift wall. "Next thing you know we'll release some virus on the whole planet before they can get their communications back up and talk to the rest of their colonies."

"Wouldn't surprise me, Hannah, wouldn't surprise me at all." Nelson replied.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Izzi asked, a slight hint of playfulness in his tone.

"Your race has a very bad habit of mass producing things that can kill humanoids en masse."

"Well... from what I've been able to piece together, we mostly had territory wars with organics for most of our existence." Izzi quipped. "Thus our ability to create weapons of mass murder that don't effect machines."

"More like necessity from how you say it." Hannah replied.

"Our Empire had many enemies... defence was key when making these structures and technologies... many of which were never truly meant to be used, like Gamma for example."

"Do I even want to know what Gamma is?" Nelson asked as the lift finally stopped.

"Bioweapons... not pretty when unleashed. It's based off of a parasitic lifeform we came across and stopped before it could take over the galaxy... we gained control and weaponized it, but it's been over a millennea, so there is no telling the state of the Site."

"Then we'll blow that bridge up when we get to it." Hannah said while they moved forward.

They continued moving through the complex with the small security team, a few handpicked men and women that Nelson had fought alongside since he was a teenager. Izzi also had a small droid guard contingent with him and Hannah opted to be her own guard despite Nelson's protests.

The search was almost painful with how long it took but they finally made it to the main vault. The lights refused to work after going so long without power coursing through them so flashlight and lightsaber was the only way that members of the team could see the giant door in front of them. Izzi quickly got to work slicing the door once the security console refused to respond and worked diligently until he heard the phrase "Stand clear!"

At once, most of the security team opened fire on the console, frying the outer casing and all security components. Nelson and Hannah both took their time slicing the hinges off the vault before she used the Force to pull the doors out of their place. Inside, were a half dozen disks about two feet in diameter and 3 inches in height.

"All that work to hide... steps?" one of the men asked.

"Not quite..." Izzi replied as he walked up to one. When he was close enough, the disks sprung to life, sending columns of calm blue light 7 feet into the air that connected to each disk.

"Izzi... what are these?" Nelson asked. He was answered when Izzi stepped into the light on one disk, only to step out of the light on the disk next to it.

"Teleportation!?" Hannah exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Indeed! I had heard rumors that such technology was possible before I was put into stasis, but I never thought that they had finished such a feat!"

"Can it transfer organics safely? Given how your race tended to not like meatbags, I wouldn't be surpised if it killed us if we walked through." Nelson replied.

"They were made to be transported and installed when needed, it would be best if we got them upstairs and into the hands of your flagship to test them properly." Izzi said with a nod, waving his hand and deactivating them before picking them up. "Shall we?"

"Agre-" Nelson started before a loud explosion made him tense and drop down to a defensive crouch. "What the hell was that?"

"It came from deeper in he facility, sir... but there's nothing past the vault except wall and planet crust." one of the guards replied.

"Izzi...?"

"We should leave now." he said, his tone having a hint of panic. "If this is also a prison then that explosion is not a good sign."

* * *

Progress! Finally some damn progress against this wall! Finally out and free... and causing havoc already as Abyss caused a square kilometer of crust around him to simply cease to exist.

"That took far too long..." Abyss grumbled to himself as he regained his form, "But that idiot robot is still on the planet... good... Well, this place isn't fortified anymore, I believe it's time I make an entrance... but how to do it..."

* * *

It took the team another hour to get the gear and get back to the surface. Once there, they loaded everything onto the dropship right after Izzi ran a hard scan on each one with one of his interface arms and watched as the LAAT/i floated back up into the air and eventually started to break through the atmosphere.

"Now to get our own ride and get the hell out of here before whatever caused that explosion decides to come up for air." Nelson said before everyone was sent to the ground by a huge shockwave. He could barely sit up, nevertheless stand, but when he managed to catch a glimpse of what caused the shockwave his jaw dropped.

The central building of Fentok, where they had left mere minutes before, was nothing but a plume of smoke and fire. Debris, ash, and bodies were still raining from the sky and half the city was now on fire when Nelson saw a black speck getting bigger and bigger by the second shoot out from the center of the flames.

Right before every other building in the city detonated and sent him to the ground again. He could barely feel anything and it was almost impossible to breathe. He couldn't hear either as screams of agony and mourning rose from the burning city again. It was all noise, crushing pain in his chest, and he almost couldn't see either from the static in his visor, the ash falling like snow, and the shockwaves screwing with his head. He barely heard Izzi's voice over the com whisper a fearful "No..." too, but he really couldn't tell.

Nelson was sent flying again, this time backwards as he tried to keep himself on the ground when whatever had just killed the city landed amongst them. One of his guards landed in a heap on top of him before bouncing back a few more feet while his rifle smacked the Captain in the visor. It took almost a minute for him to regain his bearings and look up, and when he did, he was almost frozen in fear.

Nearly 10 feet in height with a boot on Izzi's chassis, cracking it, was... Nelson didn't know. Almost 10 feet of corded muscle underneath jet black hide. No hair, no breaks in the skin that looked more like armor than flesh, gleaming white teeth in stark contrast that surprisingly, had no enhanced canines or other feral or animalistic features, a sharp nose, high cheek bones that made his face thin and almost skeletal, and yellow eyes... yellow, damning, eyes that made Nelson cringe a little as he saw how much hate was being poured through them. His hands were more like talons than anything else, much like a Krayt Dragon's in that respect despite being clenched in fists.

"By the Force..." Nelson whispered as he gazed up at this monstrosity clothed in only tattered robes and a set of boots.

"Aaah... Iz..." the deep baritone voice of this monster finally spoke. "Or were you Zi? I could never tell you two apart after your makers made you and sent you on your way."

"You are... supposed to be _dead _you monster!" Izzi spat back, only to let out a shout as Abyss pressed onto his chest more with his heel.

"Aww... that's no way to treat your old friend now is it?" he replied, picking Izzi up and levitating him in the air in front of him, "Where would your civilization be without dear old Abyss to keep you stupid robots in check?"

"Alive and thriving you bastard." Izzi growled before a bolt of plasma impacted the back of Abyss' head. He didn't even flinch and simply looked over at the man who had shot at him; one of Nelson's guards from inside the complex.

Abyss bared his teeth before snapping and turning the man into a fine mist of blood, pulverized bone, and shredded organs all covered in the dust of his armor and equipment.

"No!" Nelson bellowed as he saw the man die before anyone could react. He didn't even know what his body was doing by the time he was jumping onto the monsters back and attempting to slice his head off with his saber.

"How cute." Abyss replied dryly as he snapped up Nelson by his neck and looking him over.

"You must be the fearless leader in charge of all this mess... quaint."

"Burn in hell you son of a bitch!" Nelson barked back, getting a small grin from Abyss before his eyes widened.

"You're part machine... how fascinating... a mixture of organics and mechanics... an abomination." Abyss said, grabbing Nelson's left arm and slowly pulling until the armor and his prosthetic finally tore off of his body.

* * *

"Edward!" Abyss heard from behind him before electricity coursed through his body. The female was actually attacking him... with mental powers.

_"Fascinating..."_he thought before throwing what he assumed was her mates arm at her. She dodged the toss and charged towards him with such speed that he actually smiled, dropping the male and the robot to the ground below and bringing up his arms to counter her attack. Energy weapons in the form of a sword... now that he had not seen before.

"You bastard! How dare you eve-" she screamed before he gripped her by her throat as well.

"Now now, that's not how a lady should be speaking..." Abyss said with a playful tone,

"You'll need to be taught respect, and the best way to teach respect is through proper use of pain and discipline. You misbehaved after I tore the males arm off, it's only fair that you get the same punishment." He added, snapping and turning her left arm into what could only be described as a paste before it melted to the ground below, making her scream at the top of her lungs in pain while the male shouted out more curses.

_"What a vulgar species..._ he thought before more plasma began impacting him from all sides. He snapped again and the men and women who were dumb enough to fire on him were turned into a puddles of blood like the first one so he could get back to playing with these new toys.

* * *

"More misbehaving, and swearing too... well, I'm all about equality..." Abyss said in a calm tone that made Nelson cringe. There was nothing he could do as Abyss liquefied Hannah's other arm and tossed her aside like a rag doll before returning to him.

"You... you're angry at me... you _really_want to kill me right now. Not that you could." It spat at him, a grin on its face, "What power you have has yet to be unlocked and not even the female could bring it forward... not that it matters now, you won't survive long enough."

It all happened rather quickly, and Nelson swore he saw genuine surprise on Abyss' face as he jumped up and grabbed his saber, running at him. The charge was short-lived however as Abyss regained his composure and snapped Nelson up by his chest plate and right arm, turning the bones in his forearm to mulch with the sheer force of the grip.

"That, was stupid, male. Impressive, but stupid." Abyss growled as he yanked at Nelson's other arm. The bones, what was left of them, all dislocated with loud pops before he was dropped to the ground again. "This on the other hand, is impressive and smart."

* * *

The male let out a shout as Abyss stomped on his legs so hard that they severed at the knees and broke halfway up to his hips. The shockwave made the female cringe and she continued to sob in pain.

He loved that sound. It mixed well with the sounds of death coming from the city he had blown up.

That was until he suddenly couldn't hear anything and clutched the sides of his head. That robot still had one of those _damn_ defense mechanisms against him. He tried to move but it felt like someone had just set off a nail bomb inside of his skull. He barely kept from going to his knees from the pain before he noticed a ship, probably an evacuation vessel to get the survivors, he didn't care, he just wanted that damn noise to stop.

* * *

Izzi continued to keep one of his remaining arms pointed at Abyss, at least long enough for him to get Nelson and Hannah to the dropship for evac. He didn't know how and frankly he didn't care how this monster was still alive and out of his prison but he would save as many lives this time as he could.

"Sir, you coming!?" one of the medics in the gunship asked when Izzi started towards Abyss again.

"No! Get them out of here and jump to hyperspace the moment they're safe! No chances!"

"But si-"

"That's an order! Get out of here while you still can! Go!" Izzi barked. He didn't turn around to face Abyss until the dropship was halfway to the _Kindred Spirit_, keeping the defense aperture pointed at the monsters head. He could keep it up as long needed as long as the damage from the stomping earlier hadn't-

The defense mechanism shut down, sparks shooting out of it and finally detonating in a cloud of smoke. Abyss slowly rose, hands lowering down to his sides as he looked back at Izzi.

"I did your friends a disservice... no matter, I'll find them eventually. You can count on that, Iz." Abyss growled, pulling Izzi towards him with his mental powers and slowly crushing his chest.

"I will squeeze you to the point of termination... I will wipe you out and search for other survivors... I will make you pay for your people imprisoning me... and I will make this 'Edward' pay as well. And it will be all because of you. Remember that as you lay here and die, machine." Abyss said, his voice a calm tone yet full of rage as he dropped Izzi's limp body to the ground and shot off towards space.

* * *

It only took a few seconds for him to reach the comforting embrace and silence of vacuum. Then another minute or so for him to make it to the minimum safe distance a few million kilometers away as he looked at the Xesh Site. He looked it over, brought one of his hands up, reached out with his mind and simply flexed his hand a little.

In an instant, the capital planet of the Lumarian Empire detonated, taking 1.7 billion civilians, the remaining 500,000 Lumarian military staff still stationed on the ground and in orbit, and Izzi.

In an instant, the last of the Omega Initiative died as the _Kindred Spirit_, just as battered as her Captain, started the ten month journey back to Aurek Site.


	17. Season 1 Epilogue

"Try walking, sir." Nelson heard for what had to be the tenth time that week, but he did as he was told, slowly moving off of the crutches and taking a few uneasy steps. Unlike the other times though, his legs didn't give out from under him and he managed to keep his balance.

Hooray for small victories.

This was month 7 of his rehabilitation since Abyss had mutilated him. His arms had healed quickly, his right one being a near replica of the replacement for his left. He even had another lightsaber constructed to be kept the same way as his first. It was his legs that were the most trouble though.

Those had been amputated 7 inches above where his knees used to be and were replaced by prosthetics as well, but it was still a long process to get used to metal legs after the spine surgery he had undergone so that they wouldn't slow him down.

He kept walking slowly before attempting to stand on one leg, and to his and the medical droid's astonishment, he was able to, though not for very long. He quickly put his foot back down and continued to practice walking before looking over to the other recovery room. Hannah was busy testing her new arms... she was having difficulties that Nelson had with his first prosthetic and it honestly pained him to see her struggling like that. He quietly walked out of his recovery room and with some effort, managed to walk into hers.

"Hannah...?" he asked quietly, putting a hand on the wall to stabilize himself. She turned silently, arms down by her sides like weighted ropes.

"You're walking again... that's... that's impressive." she muttered, looking up at him.

She looked just as sleep deprived as he was.

"Nightmares?" he asked.

"About Abyss?"

"Me too... me too..." the Captain replied as he walked over to her. She just stared at him before they embraced each other rather tightly. "I would have prevented what happened to you if I could have..."

"It's not your fault, Ed, that _thing_ was more powerful than any of us could have thought... there was nothing you could do for me... or the others... I mean hell, he blew up the whole damn planet..." Hannah said, remembering all of Nelson's old friends who were turned into puddles during the skirmish.

"I know... but I still feel responsible. I am 'Captain' after all..."

"You mean admiral." she said with a slight smirk, "Don't bother, I know why you go by Captain and not your real rank."

"It sounds better and everyone who needs to know knows; the rest don't really care."

"I hate to breakup this lovely chat, but I have a message for you, Captain." Joshua said over the speakers.

"Summarize." Nelson ordered before he noticed that he and Hannah were still in an embrace and backed off a little.

"A search team we sent from the main fleet found nothing but debris from the planet. The teleporters are still being researched and there is still no sign of Izzi... they called off the search to return home." the AI reported. "I'm afraid sir, that this is the end of the Reclamation War."

"The First Reclamation War, Joshua... the First one..."

"Ed...?" Hannah asked, looking a little worried.

"We recover first, then we start expanding again. It's what Izzi would want and he was right, the technology in these Sites is too powerful for anyone else to use. We need to find them and lock them down so no one can use them, not even us if need be."

"Should I send out deployment orders?" Joshua asked.

"No, just have the fleet return to their normal defensive stations once we return, delegate ships as needed. For now we rest up and lick our wounds... then we start looking again."

"Aye sir, I'll get on that when we arrive back at Aurek in 3 months." the AI replied before the com system went silent again, leaving Hannah and the Captain with just each other.

"If you need any help getting used to your new arms, I'll be glad to help." he finally said after a few minutes of silence. She replied by bringing up her hand to his face, cupping his cheek a little roughly.

"How's my control on sensitivity?" she asked quietly.

"Needs a little work." he replied, placing his hand on hers and then giving a small smile, "But only a little."

"I'll keep working then." she replied, letting her hand drop and giving Nelson another hug. She then started out of the recovery room, fumbling with the door controls a little before standing in the doorway and glancing back at him. He really never paid much attention to her figure until it was silhouetted like that and outside of robes or armor instead of just the medical suit that was designed like the skinsuit under sets of armor...

_"Warriors build... yet still... bea-"_

"I'll be in my quarters, Ed... try not to make me wait too long, will ya?" she whispered before starting off, leaving Nelson's jaw on the floor and his eyes a little wide.

"Joshua... how long until we get back to Aurek, again?"

"ETA roughly 3 months, Captain." came the automatic reply.

"Well then..." he muttered, walking to the still open door and peering down the empty hallway. "I guess I could use a vacation..." he added, walking down the hallway slowly but confidently. Everything was going to change in the following years... and he'd never let himself be at the mercy of others again.

* * *

"Dead... all dead... finally." Abyss said to himself as he drifted through space. "But that little sentient managed to escape... pity, he and the female were such fun to play with. I'll need to find them again... or maybe let others do the finding. That would be fun, actually, playing puppet master like in my youth."

He looked around the empty vacuum around him, not sensing anything for lightyears but remembering which systems had developing civilizations on them when he was imprisoned and started towards one, smiling ear to pointed ear.

"Well, Edward Nelson, I believe it is time that you and I played chess... I only hope your pawns are as expendable as mine."


	18. Chapter 17

"And that, my loyal followers, is why the Eclipse must be annihilated." Abyss bellowed. He had been orating for a good hour now but the Crandolians watching couldn't get enough of it. He had arrived in their space after almost two years of flying from Xesh Site. Needless to say, once he had shown his power by wiping out anything that shot at him, he was treated like a god and had thus began his little plot to fill the galaxy with turmoil again.

Nelson didn't matter at this point. His followers, his government, his image, and even his ships at times, were a threat to his power, but not the man himself.

"This is your galaxy! This is your time! All you must do is reach out and take it!" Abyss roared. He was quickly joined by a chorus of cheers from the mix of castes down below as he looked from his pedestal. He walked back inside off of the balcony he was speaking from with his hands behind his back. After arriving he had fashioned proper robes for himself, mostly black as dark as his hide with the occasional gold or crimson trim that hid his musculature.

"You have a talent with words, my lord." the Crandolian Queen said as Abyss walked inside. "I must say, your ability to rile up the masses has only been matched by your ability to kill us with your mind."

"Save the pleasantries, Ilea, I need your obedience, not your approval." he growled back. While she was a bit of a suckup at times, he had grown fond of the almost humanoid insectoid Queen. She was a useful pawn, and seemed to be the only other being that shared his love of War.

"My apologies, but you must admit... the Red Eclipse will be hard pressed to stop the main offensive." she replied, getting a small grin out of Abyss.

"That is where you are wrong." he said, looking back at her, "They will be hard pressed to survive."

* * *

Over the past two years, Aurek Site, as well as all the other Sites they had claimed, had boomed. Word had made it through the galaxy that they were taking in anyone willing to swear allegiance to them, and that had included millions of refugees from Crandolian expansion in the outer rim worlds as well as survivors of other conflicts like the Lumaria-Black Moon War that had started a few months ago.

Nelson had did his best to keep the Eclipse in neutral territory and most of the populous agreed in the Senates plans to let the other factions of the galaxy kill each other all they wished. That however didn't mean that the occasional battlegroup didn't have to fight off an incursion from the Black Moon attempting to pirate their trade lines or accidentally ran into a Site that they believed to be uninhabited that was recently claimed by the Eclipse.

Lumarian ships knew full well not to come into Eclipse space.

With the expansion though, came the Senate. Captain Golt Torcille had retired to become Chancellor while Commander Jacobs, now Captain, had been promoted to Second-in-Command of the Navy as well as First-in-Command of the Army given his Mandalorian heritage and work during the First Reclamation War.

Nelson was still in charge of the Navy as well as the military in general on a tactical level, but he had gladly left the logistics and budget work to the Torcille, his Cabinet, and the Senate in general. Luckily, he was in charge of offensive deployments and did not need the Senate's permission to lead retaliatory strikes on enemy positions, an authority he was well and glad to have kept.

The real power he was happy to have though, was requisition orders. Over the past year, the shipyards at Forn Site had been hard at work creating the _Alderaan's_ sister ship, _Mandalore_.

"She'll be a beauty of a ship when she gets out of drydock, Ed." Hannah said as she walked up next to Nelson. He had been staring out of the forward viewport as the _Kindred Spirit_ continued to move lazily towards the next jump point with her escort group.

"That she will be... still mad at me for having _Alderaan_ built?" he asked, looking back at her.

"A little, but then again it did save a good portion of the fleet at Xesh before..." she trailed off, shuddering a little bit as the memories came back. They both had been having steady nightmares ever since they escaped Abyss, and while they were finally beginning to subside, every once in a while he'd bolt up from a nightmare.

Luckily for him, she was always right there next to him when that happened, although no one outside the bridge crew knew that they shared quarters.

"Where are we heading next, anyway?" she asked.

"The Senate decided to go against the neutrality movement, we're heading towards one of the Sites still in Lumarian control, well, formerly in Lumarian control. Black Moon Pirates got up enough ships to take over Vev Site and I've been instructed to 'liberate' the colony and put an Eclipse banner on top of whatever capital building they have still standing.

"Never thought you the kind of man to take orders, Admiral." she quipped back teasingly getting a small growl from the ex-pirate.

"You know I still go by Captain." he said. "I don't care what the records say, the holonews and every other informational network out there calls me Captain, and I'm keeping the nickname."

"Whatever you say, Ed." Hannah replied with a slight giggle. Men and their public image.

"Besides... if I was a proper admiral, you'd be home on Aurek sleeping by yourself while I never leave the bridge." Nelson added with a grin before getting a nudge to the ribs. He simply smiled when she left a quick kiss on his cheek and headed back towards the meditation room that they had installed. While he didn't particularly like Force Users getting special treatment, he couldn't argue with their combat prowess after having time to center themselves properly.

"How's the latest class of your Knights coming along?" he asked without turning.

"We'll find out at Vev once they're on the ground." she replied in turn, standing in the doorway, "One in particular will be actually be leading a platoon of shock troopers, she finally ranked up enough to get a command."

"Very well... enjoy the quiet while you can, we'll be jumping in three hours to meet up with battle groups 72-A and 18-C for the assault on Vev."

"Aye, sir." Hannah said with a small mock salute and an almost playful tone before turning and finally walking off the bridge.

* * *

"... and then the entire company charged forward with Captain Nelson at the front. They kept charging even when Nelson got hit and took that wall like there was no one on it."

"I call bull on that, Sarge." a private replied.

"You may think so but I was there, just a private like you that ended up in the area while the rest of my platoon was scattered all around the city or dead." Sergeant Clanter said "How do you think I got my eye? Took a piece of flying stonework when a Lumarian grenade went off by my squad on the wall."

"I still don't believe that Nelson went down on the ground. He's a Captain, not a General."

"Might as well be." another squad member said, another private, "Have you seen some of the report of his work on the ground at the other Sites? He's a bleedin' force of nature if you threaten the men."

"And rightfully so, he was just another pilot before he took over the navy. Kinda why he gives so many damns about us."

"Makes sense..." the first private muttered quietly, dropping his sentence as a combat droid lumbered by. "Is it just me or do those things give you the creeps?"

"Eh, not really. I mean, yeah, some of us still remember the stories about the Clone Wars, but only a few of the senior staff like Jacobs was alive during them. I kinda like the prospect of not having to worry about it getting blown up, means less blaster fire aimed at me." Clanter replied.

"Whatever you say, Sarge... whatever you say..."

* * *

"We're getting ready for a combat mission." Flight officer Kaylin Mundel said, causing her co-pilot, Dustin Heroz, to bump his head on the undercarriage of their ARC-170m.

"You screwing with me? We haven't had an offensive mission in a year." he replied.

"Nope, we're heading to Vev, it just got gutted by the Black Moon and the Senate wants Nelson to take it before they crack it open." she told him. "We jump in a few hours to meet with two full battle groups and then we jump together to take the fight to the Black Moon."

"'Bout damn time then." Heroz quipped. "I've upped the shield strength on our baby and the output of her main cannons will punch a clean hole in anything unshielded. Rest of the ARCs have got the same upgrades being added so we'll be able to uphold our spot in Lucky 7."

"Good, get the rest of the birds ready to fly and make sure that replacement gunner is up to scratch." Mundel ordered. Mundel had become the leader of the Eclipse's number one fighter Squadron, The Lucky 7 Squadron. Comprised of 25 ARC-170s that were updated and upgraded after being 'liberated' from Imperial drydocks before their escape to this galaxy that they now called home.

"He's up from one of the squadrons that was on the _Alderaan_ during the Xesh Campaign from what I've heard." Heroz told her, finally standing up and wiping some of the hydraulic fluid off of his mechanic fatigues. "Something tells me though, we're in for one hell of a fight."

"That's a problem?"

"Nah, just wondering when we'll be in the thick of it again... last major battle had me sitting on my ass in medbay." Heroz snipped, "And I will _not_ miss out on a chance to show the Black Moon why they need to steer clear of us."

* * *

Chancellor Torcille paced in his office quietly, hands locked behind his back as he waited for one simple message to come through. He still walked with a limp thanks to the war, but it didn't impede his ability to move too much.

Over the past year, he had gotten used to being in charge of so many lives, military and civilian, and yet he continued to be thankful that the Senate let Nelson keep military control. One less thing for him to worry about.

He was broken from his thoughts when the holobank sprang to life and Captain Nelson's holographic form appeared on it.

"Golt, good to see you still walking." Nelson said.

"Su cuy'gar, burc'ya." Torcille replied, getting a grin out of the Captain at his use of Mando'a. "Status report?"

"We're about to jump and meet up with the other battle groups. If everything goes as planned, I'll be giving you a call from Vev Site's main government building."

"Very good, Ad- er, sorry, very good, Captain. Try not to get shot between then and now, the presses prefer to keep you in one piece."

"I don't plan on letting anyone rip me apart anytime soon, Chancellor. Nelson, out." the Captain replied with a grim smirk before the feed cut.

* * *

"All hands, prepare to jump." Nelson ordered as the feed on the main screen switched to an overview of the fleet and their jump paths.

"Plots charted and jump drives spinning up, Captain." Joshua announced. "All ships ready to jump in 10."

"Sound brace alarms and hold on to your data processor." Nelson said with a grin as he took a seat. Once the countdown hit 5, the stars began to warp a little and he felt the ship accelerate, and once it hit 0, all he saw outside was the black of space occasionally interrupted by the white line of a star.

"ETA, 2 days, Captain." the Ops officer said. "After that it's a three day trip to Vev."

"Good..." Nelson said quietly, "Let the campaign begin."


	19. Chapter 18

A shimmer of air appeared on top of one of the many apartment complexes in New Keldabe, the capital city of Aurek Site. That shimmer didn't stay still for long though, it slowly inched back until it got to the far side of the building and jumped down. It continued moving down the alley once his repulsor boots made the landing soft until coming to a stop by a small door.

Once the door read his security codes imbedded in his armor, it let him in and shut quickly and the shimmer became a man clad head to toe in industrial grey armor appeared as the cloak died.

"Any movement?" a robotic voice asked as the grey-armored man moved farther into the facility he had entered.

"Nothing new, but there's definitely something shady going on in there. I think we may have actually found our infiltrator group." he replied. Lieutenant Jeral Het-Dai had been on quite a fast track since the battle of Xesh Site. Thanks to that battle, he was able to apply for a special forces division of the military.

He had chosen home defense for the sake of his parents who had come with the Eclipse on the mass exodus to this new galaxy, and because of that, was part of the anti-espionage branch of the Aurek Home Defense Force.

"Well then, looks like we'll need to move in eventually." TC-49 replied. He was the assassination droid tasked with the SpecOps group that Het-Dai was the recon officer for. 2 meters tall and humanoid in shape. Modeled after the HK series from the time of the Old Republic, it was made using the old shells that hadn't been used in thousands of years for the sake of streamlining.

Nelson personally rather enjoyed using the old shells, no one knew they were old and they were just as frightening as the new ones.

"That gets left up to the XO, TC." Jeral said. "Scopes showed explosives signatures in small amounts. They're stockpiling but not so much to draw attention."

"Sounds like a party waiting to happen, Lieutenant." a deceivingly soft voice quipped. Quietly, and quickly she moved across the room to the tac-table in the center. "Intercepted coms has marked one of the military garrisons on the outskirts as the main target."

"Lumarian or Black Moon?" Jeral asked.

"Black Moon." TC responded quickly, "Lumarians still have not built up the nerve to assault us. Not here, not on Aurek. They'll barely fight our battle groups scouting their space."

"So the official reports say, but what's MilIntel say about it?" he asked.

The woman that had spoken up early scowled for a moment before shaking her head slightly. The woman was Lt. Colonel Sandra Callien, the Executive Officer of the Anti-Espionage team for this sector of Aurek Site. The lead officer was an unknown to each member of the team for the sake of safety.

"Lumarians have been upping the frequency of their attacks on our battle group patrols to the point where MilIntel may have to inform the Senate. They've been looking for an excuse to let them know for the sake of declaring war on not only the Black Moon... only issue is, the fleet still hasn't recovered from the Xesh Campaign."

"That is... disturbing... at best." TC-49 deadpanned quietly.

"Roughly 47% of the fleet was either gutted or damaged beyond fighting capability during those two months." Callien continued, "The entire offensive fleet is still at 62% capacity with the _Mandalore_ still under construction... as usual, nothing you hear is to be repeated, SSD _Republic_ is currently having her keel laid in orbit as we speak without the Senates knowledge. If we're lucky, the fleet will be back at full blast in a few more months."

"And something tells me that if this attack is successful, the Senate will take us to war before we can effectively survive a-" TC started before the com unit based in his head started acting up. "My my... we're already at war with the Black Moon. The Senate just tasked Admiral Nelson to take Vev Site from the Black Moon. They recently took it from Lumaria and Nelson will be 'liberating' it... it appears we're too late."

"Not quite." Jeral replied. "We pin this attack on the Black Moon regardless of who those infiltrators are. We're already at war with them, we might as well make the people who decide everything hate them more. We can take on the Black Moon, it's a two front war we can't take."

"My sentiments exactly, Dai." Callien said, grinning. "So... who's ready to plant some evidence and put our nickname to good work?"

"Boss..." TC-49 quipped, "Once a Wraith, always a Wraith."

* * *

Sentry Report:

Factions Continuing Conflict...

Suggested Course of Action...

Continue Reconnaissance...

Coalition Alert Priority: Low

Hibernation Cycle Restarting: 5... 4... 3...

* * *

"Senators, please, the fleet is already en route to Vev Site, there is no reason to worry." Torcille said from his pedestal, "Admiral Nelson is leading the charge and he will report again once the system is in our control. There is no reason, I assure you, to start a two front war when one is not needed."

"And what of the territory infringement by the Crandolian Empire? The unsanctioned attacks by the Lumarian Military!?" a voice rang out, one of the few dozen senators there from the outer colonies.

"MilIntel has confirmed that those have been Black Moon crews using commandeered Lumarian ships. What little communication we've had with the Lumarian Republic has suggested they may not want an alliance or trade agreement, but they are not willing to start another war with us. Not after they think that _we_ caused the Abyss Incident."

"And of the Crandolians?"

"Any infringement is met with deadly force swiftly following communications jamming. It is standard procedure to utterly destroy any force that enters our space. Standard as agreed upon by the Military Council... don't tell me you're planning on going against them, the last thing we need is for our government to be separate. A storm is coming... the Republic Knights have sensed it, and many of us from the military, retired or no, can feel it."

"A Crandolian Invasion?"

"We don't know... the Knights Council hasn't been able to pinpoint anything... but we must be prepared. We must be united. We must be _strong_." Torcille replied. He was happy to have gained Nelson's affinity for orating, especially at times like this. "For our Republic will soon be in danger... more so then it already is, and we cannot let any of our enemies exploit weaknesses. We cannot let there be any weakness exist for them to exploit. This Senate has been evenly divided since its creation, it is time to set aside your petty differences, your petty squabbles..."

"It is time, as members of the Red Eclipse, to put aside everything that has been holding us back. It is time to stop fighting each other when the war is on its way here... and starting a war with the Lumarians is _not_ the way to keep our citizens safe. Two day recess... you're all dismissed."

* * *

"Moving, sir... not going to get you votes during the next election though." a nearby protocol droid said as Torcille continued to walk back to his office.

"I was unaware that the senators voted for me. Last time I checked, the people voted for me and I'm trying to save their lives... although I'm wishing that you hadn't given me the MilIntel update before this meeting."

"Apologies sir."

"Stow it and get Jacobs on the horn, I want to know what our recon pickets have been reporting that caused my com unit to buzz during that entire meeting."

"Right away sir." the droid replied, walking alongside him. It didn't take long for them both to get back into the main office where Jacobs' hologram was already on the main tank.

"Chancellor, you seem a little irritated." he said.

"You have something important to tell me?" Torcille asked, taking a seat behind his desk.

"Crandolian scouting parties are getting closer to our boundaries, things are heating up out on the rim... we're going to need the _Alderaan_ out here as a show of force before too long."

"You can have her, she's been patrolling the opposite side of our territory from where you're stationed, old friend... you are to keep up a defensive campaign. Only fire when they enter our territory and do not go into their space."

"Understood, Jacobs out." he said, the hologram fading and leaving Torcille alone with his thoughts and his protocol droid. "Raise the alert status of the fleet by a grade level, we need to be prepared for when that 'threat' the Knights have told us about arrives."

"Of course, Chancellor." the droid replied, walking out of the office and once again leaving Torcille in silence.

_"At least on the bridge there was always something happening..."_ he thought, leaning back in his chair. "Nelson better pull through... we can't afford any bad news..."

* * *

"Stand by to enter realspace." the standard safety warnings blared. It wasn't a combat insertion though. The _Kindred Spirit_ and her battle group had yet to meet up with the other two groups joining them for the assault on Vev Site. All around, the attack would involve 40 ships ranging from Corvette to carrier class and enough Republic Marines to choke a Krayt Dragon.

"Standing by, sir, all hands are ready for the second jump." Joshua replied.

"Alright, exit in 5 and meet up with the groups on the far side." Nelson replied.

His ships exited hyperspace to see a Crandolian carrier less than a kilometer in front of her. All around his battle group, the Forn Defense Fleet was battling a huge Crandolian assault force that appeared to have arrived just minutes before Nelson did.

"Battle stations! Everyone! Scramble every fighter we have and open up on these bastards! Go go go!" Nelson barked as he sprang up from his chair. The lighting throughout the ship went from standard colorless to red and warning klaxons blared even louder. The main ion cannon fired directly into the carrier in front of it and almost every turbolaser capable of firing forward did so, blasting holes in the enemy ship after the ion shot disabled her shields.

_"What the_ hell _are these bug-bastards doing __**here**__!?"_


	20. Chapter 19

"Shields recharging, armor at 97%!" the Ops officer shouted.

"Bring us about heading 270, thrusters, Z-81." Nelson ordered coolly.

"Aye sir, heading two-seven-zero; thrusters Z-eight-one." the officer replied. At once, the ship shuddered with the sudden movement. The _Kindred Spirit_ maneuvered to the left and down, her point defense guns firing at full blast at any fighter that was stupid enough to get within range. Nearby, Lucky 7 was hunting down a Crandolian frigate trying to get out of range of the guns of a nearby Keldabe, _Aurek's Revenge_.

The battle had been raging for a little over an hour at this point, 72-A and 18-C had arrived 30 minutes into the fight, evening the odds almost instantly. 72-A and 18-C were planetary assault battle groups, ships outfitted with weapons capable of tearing planetary defense fleets in two when they worked in tandem. Their heavy weaponry came with a price though, no invasion forces were stationed inside and they relied on battle groups like the _Kindred Spirit_'s, ones that were balanced to take on all situations, to land an invasion force.

In all, had Nelson and the appropriate ships not arrived, the Forn Defense Fleet would have already been overrun and the ground war would have been underway by the time reinforcements had arrived.

"Ion blast get ready to fire, Joshua target their remaining carrier. After port and prow starboard thrusters prepare to fire full blast, starboard broadsides fire once they have confirmed visuals." Nelson said.

"Orders sent and all stations ready, by your command, sir." Joshua replied.

"Mark!" Nelson barked. His ship lurched again, moving forward as a neon blue bolt of energy the size of a Crusader corvette hurtled towards the targeted carrier. A split-second after the main gun fired, the _Spirit_ turned rapidly, her hull screaming in protest at how fast she was moving and then with how quickly she decelerated and stabilized.

* * *

The men in the upper starboard broadside gunnery rooms held on tight, most clinging to walls while the men sitting in the guns grimaced at the Gs being pulled with how the ship was moving. That however, wasn't their concern. Their concern was to keep their eyes glued to the targeting computers in front of them and the moment that they saw the targeting data flash red, pull both triggers.

And that's exactly what the 47 of them that managed to stay awake did. 47 Mass Driver rounds left their guns with enough noise to deafen anyone who was foolish enough to go into the gunnery rooms without the standard hearing protection.

* * *

47 Mass Driver shells bypassed the shields of the Crandolian carrier, and dug into the hull. Unlike most projectiles like them, the warheads inside mass driver shells were faced _backwards_, intended to detonate outwards once they buried themselves underneath the hull and the armor of the target.

Nelson watched with a small smile as half the hull of the Crandolian Carrier to the starboard of his ship simply disappeared in a slew of explosions that quickly followed atmosphere venting at such a rapid pace that it caused the carrier to spin wildly at an even faster pace without her maneuvering thrusters.

"Must have hit something vital along communications, sir." Joshua commented as the turbolasers opened up and slagged what was left of the carrier.

"They're running..." Nelson muttered, standing up and looking at the tactical layout on the main screen, "Move the ships that are in the best shape to intercept the routers. Move us and the remaining fleet into drydock for repairs."

"Aye sir, all ahead half." the Engineering officer replied. "We took a hit to our engines, nothing serious but I don't want to risk full power when we don't have to."

"And that's why you're on the bridge crew." Nelson replied. "Get our armor patched up and I want a crew working on our engines yesterday."

"Noted."

* * *

Kaylin Mundel landed her ARC-170m in the forward hangar of the _Kindred Spirit_, this hangar was placed where the main plasma gun used to be for the sake of fast deployment. There were no scorch marks on her bird, though the heat-sinks on the weapons were all blackened with the recent use. Luckily for her, it matched the color scheme of all crimson red with the occasional streak of space black painted on the hull.

"Next time, I'm driving. You skim a ship like that again, and I'll personally pull your ejector spring." Heroz said as their cockpits opened. He stepped out, jumping to the deck plating below. "Because I'm pulling mine if you get that close again."

"Eh, I've done worse before we started working together." Mundel replied.

"I know, I was the ship you clipped and sent spiraling into a friendly hangar." Heroz replied with a smirk. It was a dangerous memory, an experience that almost killed him, but it had given him a new partner and got them both into Lucky 7; for that he was grateful.

"Details, details, Dusty." she said, giving a similar smirk once she landed next to him. "She made it through without a scratch once again, though."

"I guess the new guy isn't that bad of a gunner then..." he replied quietly, his tone dropping a little as their new rear gunner got out as well and walked off without a word.

"Not one for conversation..." Kaylin replied.

"Someone with a kill/shot ratio like he pulled today usually isn't." Heroz replied quietly, getting a small and slow nod from Kaylin.

* * *

"Get me a damage report and update the Chancellor on what just happened... I don't think we'll be hitting Vev Site this week." Nelson said quietly as he continued to circle the holotable. "And put every ship in the Eclipse on high alert as well. An attack like this means the buggers will be advancing on multiple fronts."

"Luckily they haven't cracked the holonet yet so communications are optimal right now." Joshua replied. "Messages have already been received and the fleets are mobilizing. It will take two days for the entire fleet to be ready to fight, the defensive fleet that is, sir."

"Then we need to hope that we don't get attacked by a battle group this size for those two days." Nelson quipped dryly. This was not the war he wanted to start.

* * *

"The Senate will call for blood, I just know it." Torcille groaned, sinking into his chair slowly. "With your report and Nelson's coming in to m-"

"Nelson's report?" Jacobs asked. "Has he been engaged against Crandolians as well?"

"They full on assaulted Forn Site, we're lucky that three battle groups were arriving right when the Crandolians showed up or we'd have lost the shipyards pumping out the new Offensive fleet _and_ the Mandalore."

"That's why the keel of the _Republic_ is already laid if I'm hearing the rumors correctly."

"And they are to stay as rumors, old friend." Torcille replied with a sigh. "Keep up a defensive campaign out there... until we mobilize the defensive fleets."

"They've already started, Nelson sent out the order 30 minutes ago but I couldn't figure out why."

"Everyone will know by tomorrow, I can assure you of that. Be safe, burc'ya, I need you in one piece."

"I can't promise you that, but I'll fix any pieces I lose by ripping them from the enemy. Jacobs, out."

"Indeed friend..." Torcille muttered, turning his chair to look out at New Keldabe, "Indeed..."

* * *

"Early!? Those idiots assaulted the Eclipse _early_!?" Abyss roared. "They all better be dead and if there are survivors I will kill them myself, damnit!"

"O-o-of course, m-my... m-m-my lord, I w-will bring them b-b-before you at once..." the lieutenant standing in front of him replied, dropping into a kneeling bow before practically sprinting off out of the room.

"It was Czrarsh, the damnable officer looking to advance through glory on the battlefield." Abyss muttered. The Queen moved up next to him in her usual silent grace and sat down.

"The remaining forces are still being delayed... my officers estimate a week before we can assault any other worlds under Eclipse control." Ilea said. Luckily for her, Abyss had actually grown fond of her and instead, a guard exploded into a fine mist of exoskeleton and green blood.

"The Eclipse will be able to mobilize a defense in less than half a week! Surprise all completely blown by that glory hound trying to beat the caste system... if he is still alive I will make his death long and painful for all of your blasted admiralty to see."

"You act like I don't already do that for failures in any branch." Ilea replied, almost smiling at him, "I personally wish you'd let me help you with this execution... Czrarsh has been a thorn in the side of many a royal for years now and I think it would be fun to help you toy with him."

"Remember what I said about patronizin-"

"I'm not patronizing you, Abyss..." she interrupted, moving over and sitting on the arm rest of his throne, "I'm making the best of having a deity share my throne room and send my armies off to war."

"Do go on." Abyss quipped back, a small smirk growing on his face.

"You have the power, being a 'god' that I know you are not, to command the populous in a way no Queen ever could. You can be brutal, you can make examples, you can speak as the people... and they'll eat it up like grubs in a nectar pool."

"And you want to take advantage of that."

"Not quite, My Lord Abyss... I simply want to make sure that you no longer view me as expendable, and who knows, that maybe one of these days make sure that you actually enjoy my company."

"You said it yourself, I'm not an immortal. I've already grown to appreciate your willingness to embrace my form of authority."

"If they fear you they won't rise up, Abyss; Dictator 101." the Queen remarked, grinning as Abyss actually chuckled.

"Yes... if they fear you they won't rise up... but do you know what the only other time you can assure that they won't rise against you is?"

"When they love you?"

"No." Abyss replied, looking over to the puddle that used to be a guard with a malicious grin, "When they're dead."


	21. Chapter 20

Jeral breathed out slowly, using the 10-times magnification in his visor to get a bead on the men inside the apartment complex. The scope of the rifle he was using would've worked just fine, but he was a marksman, not a dedicated sniper and preferred to have a wide view instead of a small circle with the rest of his visor blacked out.

"Three hostiles present, looks like the normal guard detail." he whispered into the com channel before charging his rifle. If needed, he would terminate the guards from a rooftop three blocks away with an experimental rifle that didn't fire a visible blaster bolt.

"Have we found out how they infiltrated?" TC-49 asked.

"Regulars of the place seems to have dummy families in place... they may or may not know about the bombs their husbands and daddies are making while 'at work'." Callien said, sending multiple dossier links to Het-Dai's HUD. "It's why we're going to try and take the leaders alive if possible. If the guards get in the way though, I'd rather risk a terrorist's life than a marine's."

"Copy; still only have 3 in the building on all scopes. One per floor from the fifth story and up." Jeral acknowledged.

"Just try not to miss, organic." TC-49 quipped.

"I'll do my part, TeeCee, you just try not to rust out before you plant the beacons." Het-Dai sniped back, getting an amused chuckle, or at least the droid equivalent, from the Assassin droid.

"Cut the chatter, boys." Callien told them, a hint of a smile flashing across her face while she continued to monitor their progress from the LAAT/i she had circling the city. Inside was all the equipment she needed to monitor them from the co-pilot's cockpit while the troop bay had a platoon of combat droids ready to drop in just in case things went sour The feeling of not wanting to have to activate any of them was shared by the entire team for the sake of safety and the one thing that they excelled at, stealth.

"Objective reached, slicing security systems now." TC announced, to which Jeral let out a long, silent sigh and readied his sites.

* * *

"That was rather harrowing, to say the least, Edward." Hannah said quietly as the _Kindred Spirit_ finally floated out of the docks once again. She was followed by the same ships that had followed her in save one, another Aggressor by the name _Morning Glory_ was taking the place of the _Herald of Light_ which was badly maimed during the battle, having ended up on the receiving end of one of the Crandolian beam weapons that they were so fond of using when her shields broke.

"It stopped a ground invasion and cost them a sizable fleet... still cost us more spacers than I would like though..." Nelson replied just as quietly. He was standing with his hands on the holotable, punching in various commands as fleet numbers came up on screen in rapid succession.

"These 14 hours will cost us on the Vev campaign, _if_ they still want us to take it from the Black Moon." he added.

"Orders haven't changed, but I have given Chancellor Torcille multiple status updates and he seems to be thinking that we will continue with the invasion."

"Has MilIntel come up with anyone new on Vev that will make it worth the effort? If the Crandolians are starting a war, we don't need to be punching the Black Moon in the nose." Hannah responded.

"Speculated large ore deposits have been confirmed, along with whatever Vev Site does. The ores have only a 12% difference to the alloys we use for capital ship armor plating. Possibly stronger, possibly weaker. It's a gamble worth taking with a new front opening up." Joshua said, his avatar coming up on the table and walking around the representation of Vev hovering beside him.

"And what exactly does Vev do?" Nelson asked as he stood back upright, examining the rest of the data filtering in.

"As far as the scanning team is concerned, creates the large ore deposits, we don't know how though. Records we recovered from the Omega AIs at Dorn suggest that Vev was a fortress and/or factory world where the Omega Initiative built most of their fleet during times of war. Only issue is we don't have a surviving Omega Initiative member to lower the security defenses and interface with the ancient systems."

"That means months or years until we can take it off autopilot and working for us." Nelson growled, lightly punching the table. "Just what we need, a Site that is practically offline right when the buggers bloody our nose."

"It's still only three days away at optimal jump speed. Limited Black Moon presence on the ground." Hannah interjected, "Space doesn't look that bad considering they haven't upgraded their weapons or shields in the past year, at least not fleet-wide."

"Are we ready to jump, Joshua?" Nelson asked, walking back to main viewscreen and looking out at the black vacuum, taking note of the very few Eclipse husks still floating among the wreckage of the Crandolian strike force.

"We'll be fully out of he gravity well in 10 minutes, jump will commence in 13, and _Morning Glory_ is finally synced up to the battle groups communications channels." Joshua reported as the ship continued forward at a leisurely pace.

"Very well." the Captain replied, "Helm, all ahead half and spin up the hyperdrive. Joshua, make sure that the jump calculations are triple checked. General Carlson, get your Knights ready for combat, I believe there's a drop pod waiting for each of them."

"Aye, Admiral." she replied, smirking a little as she noticed the subtle cringe and change in aura that Nelson gave off for a split second.

"That's _Captain_, General..."

* * *

A man in loose robes, much like normal civilians who worked in the school he was walking away from, continued at an almost lazy pace down the sidewalk. He did his best not to get clipped by the occasional student on a speeder, scowling every time that one got too close.

"Blasted underagers..." he muttered as another one zoomed by. Most likely one of the students that failed his last exam. He continued down the road quietly before turning down an alleyway. Once he made sure that no one had followed him, he started moving faster until he reached his apartment complex. Though it wasn't _his_ apartment complex, it was his employers.

"Security Code ten dash seven nine." He whispered, glancing in both directions as the door labeled 'WARNING: HIGH VOLTAGE' slid open silently and admitted him. Once in, he shed the outer layers of his robes and put on the nearest set of ballistics armor and a helmet.

"Greetings sir, nice of you to drop by." a man dressed similarly said, barely looking up from his work on a nearby table.

"Well, you know, kids and all. Most of them didn't like their chem test results. Who would have thought that violent chemical reactions would bore them." Professor Yeval Vorla replied, looking over the explosives that were already finished.

"Only if it's just the equations, not the actual experiment." the other man quipped.

"Regardless... progress?"

"Enough to level three of the four military bases we've been tasked with hitting, though our guards are in the infirmary... Fuel cell failure detonated upstairs. Wasn't pretty, but what do you expect from a building close to the slums?"

"True... hopefully we can extract them with us after everything it's set and let's hope we can get the fourth batch ready in time. Eclipse Counter-Espionage has been very active lately, they even had a checkpoint on the way into school today for teachers that were from Lumarian colonies... almost didn't get by those stupid thugs."

"Racist Eclipse officers? What a surprise." the younger man, still working on an explosive charge, replied sarcastically.

"Too proud of their old galaxy and heritage to _truly_ accept refugees." Vorla muttered with a sneer.

"Only the ones running around with armor and rifles, and even then, I've met at least two decent Eclipsians who didn't hate Lumarians... still won't admit to killing the homeworld though." the younger man said quietly. As he did, Vorla looked over the stockpile, a small yet feral smile creeping onto his face.

"And that is why they shall pay."

* * *

"He is probably just getting back to the laboratory." TC-49 stated. "Beacons are set and a strike team has 'moved' into the adjacent apartments a month ago... if any of the explosives leave the building, we will know and can move in."

"Lovely job, TeeCee, and good use of discretion, Het-Dai." Callien told them as the holotable lit up again

"Who would guess that a fuel cell would just _happen_ to fail and just _happen_ to detonate in the room where the guards have their main checkpoint?" he replied with a small smirk. "Injured, not dead, but with any luck it will make when they leave Aurek a much tougher operation."

"I still do not agree with sparing them, but the results do make them less wary..." TC said.

"Stow it, 49. Jeral made the right choice. If anything this makes the eventual strike easier to execute."

"Yes ma'am..." the droid replied.

"Moving on. Get ready for when beacons start to transmit, the moment a red dot pops up on this table... we strike."

* * *

"All hands standby for combat jump." Nelson ordered, "All hands ready for combat at least one hour before we enter realspace, I do _not_ want another 'Forn Surprise' this time."

"New nickname by the men?" Joshua asked.

"Just thought it up, actually." Nelson remarked, getting light chuckles from the command crew.

"I'm sure it will be put in the history books, sir." Joshua replied, his avatar smirking as well. "All ships reporting ready, jump will commence in 10 seconds."

"All ships standby." Nelson said, shuddering slightly at the memory of what had happened last time he had said that, "I'll see you all on the other side."

* * *

The dock workers of Forn Site, at least the ones currently on the dark side of the planet, all looked up from their work as the large fleet of warships that had assembled minutes earlier all suddenly started pumping more energy into their engines. In multiple phases, the various colors of engine exhaust got brighter and brighter, rivaling the visible stars until winking out one by one, leaving nothing but empty space and workers giving encouraging yells that never left their helmets.

The Red Eclipse was on the offensive once more.


	22. Chapter 21

"Do you have any idea how much hell my boys are going to raise with news like this coming in?" Jacobs asked, the hologram of Nelson standing in front of him, "Crandolians hitting Forn of all places while we're busy keeping their incursions on the Syclin Rim at bay... this... I'm going to have to restrain most of my captains, Ed..."

"I know, I know... just inform the 3rd, 5th, and 8th fleets of what happened and get ready to take another hit on the chin. Once I have Vev secured, we can get the Admiralty on the horn and get a counter attack in the works... until then, just keep everyone in line and make sure that we're ready to take another hit to the nose."

"Aye sir, Jacobs out." the old Mandalorian captain said, cutting the feed and turning back to walk out of his room. He keyed the door open, taking his time walking down the hallway to the lift that would take him to the bridge.

"News from Admiral Nelson, sir?" a calm voice said over the speakers as he walked by.

"Forn was attacked in force by the buggers; things are not looking very good right now, Horizon."

"Then I guess this isn't the best time to inform you that hyperspace radar arrays picked up another large ping heading straight for our sector." the AI replied when the lift door opened. Jacobs could only sigh at the news before punching in the code for the command deck.

"Third time this month... mobilize the battle group and have every fighter we have ready to launch the moment they reach realspace."

"And our reinforcements, sir?"

"On the edge of the system and ready to jump in at a moments notice. We are not letting these bastards push us back."

* * *

"Realspace in 5 minutes, Captain." Joshua announced. Inside the orbital drop pods, a technology that the Eclipse had developed before coming to this new galaxy, marines and Eclipse Knights alike all started getting ready mentally. Each one would be hitting the ground in the middle of enemy territory, most likely in the main military camp, and fighting until dropships dropped off regulars or more shock troops.

One particular pod held General Hannah Carlson; she was never too fond of taking drop pods into combat, but it beat taking a refit LAAT/i or some other dropship while being shot at the entire time. She calmed her mind as best she could, reaching out to each sentient dropping with her to do the same with her Battle Meditation for them.

_"Just remember to keep your firing lines clear and to do this by the book."_ she told them all mentally, _"No slip-ups and we all get to feel safe deck plating under our boots."_

At that, many of the men and women chuckled, no one was overly fond of spending too much time in orbit despite how safe it was on the capital ships. None of them talked about the casualties to come though, that was something reserved for the survivors to worry about when this was all over.

* * *

Nelson stood on the bridge, watching the blur of stars continue to go by while his bridge crew continued to get everything ready. Targeting computers were being calibrated properly, engineering and damage control teams were being prepped, and every dropship the _Kindred Spirit_had was loading up every platoon meant for the coming ground battle. Ready markers appeared on the main viewscreen in front of Nelson, individual sections of his ship reporting ready while other ships in the fleet pinged green as well.

"60 seconds, sir." the Ops officer said, "All ships reporting green across the board."

"Spool up the stealth generators and get our shields up the moment we break realspace." Nelson said quietly, taking his seat as the viewscreen depolarized to become transparent and become the main forward viewport right as the fleet exited hyperspace.

"Why are the buggers doing here!?" the weapons officer blurted out.

"The hell are they doing with Black Moon is a better question." Nelson replied calmly, "All ships are free to pick their targets and fire at will. I want the carriers out of the fight first."

As one, each of the 97 ships in the fleet accelerated to meet the Crandolian-Black Moon battle group hovering over Vev Site; Mass Driver rounds, turbolasers, and fighters painted the black vacuum between the two forces before impacting on shields and hull plating. The response was sluggish but still had bite to it, plasma projectors and lasers firing back with their usual white or blue glow.

The only issue that the Eclipse had when fighting the Crandolian Empire was the sheer numbers they had on their size. A battle group for them was two or three for the Eclipse and the gap in technology was not overly huge so the only advantage they really had, was Force Users in pilot seats and on the ground.

That did not compensate or apply here, however, as a Vengeance Frigate lost one of the main guns on its side and was trying to stabilize after the explosion threw it off course. Nelson ignored the loss and only made note of the way it would affect the tactical aspects of the battle raging around him. One by one, casualties started to mount on both sides, Crandolian and Black Moon ship losing entire hull sections or their engines detonating thanks to well placed torpedo hits while the Eclipse ships steadily vented atmosphere and smoke while damage control teams did their best to contain blazes or breaches.

One such breach was a lucky shot from a Black Moon bomber strike craft that hit the hangar door of the _Kindred Spirit_'s B Hangar. The effect was immediate as the torpedo punched through the door plating and continued inside, detonating on the far inside wall and blasting through the thinner inner armor. An alert popped up on one of the side viewscreens and was promptly dismissed as damage control got to work. Nelson didn't react to it outwardly but cringed on the inside. That hit would cost them.

"Joshua, divert some of yourself from helping us maneuver to the point defense guns, I don't want strike craft getting that close to us again." Nelson ordered. The reply was a silent nod from the holobank at the front of the bridge before the main gun fired again and bathed the shields of a Crandolian frigate in hellish red plasma. The momentum of the shot pushed the ship back before the shields buckled and the hull was slowly baked off inch by inch.

"Line us up for another shot and get the broadsides within range of that carrier but keep moving us towards the planet. I want our men on the ground before they organize down there."

* * *

Kaylin banked her ARC in a tight loop for another run at the carrier her and Lucky 7 had been harassing since they launched. They were lucky enough to get there before she had launched her fighters and when she did, they were shredded by Lucky 7 and even some point defense fire from an old Venator that had since had its shields broken and its air control tower slagged.

That was before Kaylin's wing man landed a trio of torpedoes on the side armor of the carrier's main gun and disabled it. Ever since, they had been hitting the weapons and engine systems until they stopped giving off their usual glow or started to float off of the carrier they were supposed to be attached to.

She thumbed the firing stud on the joystick and her ship vibrated from the laser fire pouring out of the wing guns and straight into the unshielded hangar bay, shredding the deck and anything left inside before pulling up and skimming about a meter above the hull, the rear gunner blasting at the armor plating as they went.

"Lucky 7 target her engines so I can mark this piece of scrap as target practice for the big boys. New target 5,000 meters to our right, 48 degrees down." she said calmly, pulling up and climbing before deftly turning over in a dive so Heroz could release one of their torpedoes onto the engines that were already venting atmosphere and flames from the beating they had gotten. As she dived, she noticed in the periphery of her vision an Aggressor coming up and firing a plasma shot. By the time it impacted the front of the carrier and started melting the hull, she had already evened out and was on her way towards the battlecruiser she had marked for the squadron.

"Dispersion pattern Aurek!" she ordered as flak started to come up at them and the battlecruiser turned to give the squadron a full broadside, "No one gets hit by Triple A, that's an order!"

* * *

The carrier slowly started to sink towards Vev Site now that it couldn't sustain orbit as the _Kindred Spirit_steamed on past it. The broadsides on the starboard side opened up on the doomed carrier just to be sure while the port guns, broadside and turbolaser alike, opened up on the two escort frigates that had failed so spectacularly in protecting the bigger ship.

Soon, the two smaller vessels began to follow the carrier in a death plunge towards the surface while Nelson moved his ship and two others, a Keldabe and another one of the old refit Venators, into position. Once they lined up correctly, drop pods and gunships all launched as quickly as they could manage towards points of interest before the _Spirit_banked off and accelerated towards the battle still being waged behind them.

"Re-task _Fire Dancer_ to watch the _Triumphant_'s back while she covers the ground teams. Which ship is giving our boys the most trouble?"

"CE-V class heavy destroyer is giving the right flank a beating." Ops stated.

"Move us in behind it, engines first and then we'll take her apart gun by gun. All ahead full."

* * *

Jacobs sneered as his flagship plowed on through another debris field. Once again he had held the line against a medium sized incursion with no capital ships lost, but damage to armor and weapons was evenly scattered throughout his fleet. His reserves had to come up just to make sure that they weren't left unguarded as they moved towards the bases they had established in this sector. Made from scratch and the first three of their kind, the Sovereign-class space stations were based off the designs of the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic Empire, the Zann Consortium, and the Black Moon. It was roughly a square shape with a gap in the middle, three kilometers on every side with the center gap being ringed with docking booms, resupply tubes, and repair claws.

It had taken them a full year to build all three stations in this choke point on the border with the Crandolians, but the advantage was worth it; each station had armor up to 3 meters thick on top of the multi-tiered shielding they sported. Firepower was comparable with multiple Keldabes, multiple gravity well generators to pull hostiles out of hyperspace, and the repair assets that they provided made them priceless.

Their only issue was cost and because of that, only 20 existed in the entire Republic, planetary defense was taken care of by cheaper orbital gun platforms, hangars, and defensive fleets while Sovereigns were reserved specifically for defense of hyperspace lanes that were vital or on the border. For that, Jacobs was glad he had three backing his ships up.

"Take us in for repairs at whichever station has room, Horizon, I want the weapons repaired before the armor is patched up. Shield integrity?"

"Holding stable at 74 percent, the shield generator was damaged when we pumped power into it so that will need repairs as well."

"Make it so then." Jacobs replied, taking a seat and pulling up the casualty report on his personal datapad. 83 Crandolian vessels all destroyed or disabled at the cost of a few dozen fighters and around 800 sentients... not bad considering the 7 that managed to break the gravity well and jump to safety.

"Inform the Chancellor and the Council of what happened, please." he added, glancing over to the Communications officer who promptly started typing, "And I want body retrieval finished within the week."

* * *

A puff of fire and smoke appeared briefly on the shields of the Aggressor destroyer _Black Dawn_as a Black Moon fightercraft slammed into it. Another clean kill from Lucky 7 as they continued to clear the area and keep enemy singlecraft away from the big ships. Behind them, roughly 10,000 meters away, a battlecruiser without weapons or engine power continued to get hammered by three Vengeance Frigates and a Crusader.

"Contacts! Up 82, 500 and closing." Heroz announced, "They don't look too happy."

"Since when did buggers show facial expressions?" Haylin quipped back with a grin.

"Just a guess with all the white plasma flying by our hull." Heroz snipped back with a small chuckle as he diverted more power to their forward shields. As one, half of Lucky 7 banked up to meet the attackers, throwing back their own green and red plasma intermixed with missiles while their shields flared.

When both groups had passed each other, the attacking force was nothing but burning hulks with blown out cockpits or nothing but debris fields as the Eclipse fighters moved past with near impunity.

"Bastards nicked the port heat sink wing cover." Heroz announced, noting the chunk of wing missing and the blackened plating around it.

"Good thing we're not in atmosphere then." Haylin replied, a little bit of irritation in her voice as they kept flying and blasting away at anything in their path.

* * *

Slowly, the Eclipse ships pressed forward, sending more and more of the enemy falling towards the planet but at a heavy cost. 26 ships had already been disabled and most of the rest had hull and armor damage. Many also had certain weapons that were disabled and singlecraft squadrons were down 27 percent of their total numbers.

Nelson noted this all quietly as his ship broke stealth and fired the main gun straight at the main engines of the Crandolian heavy destroyer they had snuck up on. The plasma painted the shields a familiar shade of crimson as any ship within range of the monster ship kept firing. The shields finally broke and the plasma shot continued to move forward and landed on their engines like a blanket made of water, shorting them out and causing multiple detonations along the engines.

"Rotate and dive, hit the underbelly of the target with every starboard broadside." Nelson ordered as his ship continued forward and down. Thanks to the artificial gravity, he was still standing on the floor as the _Spirit_turned on its side and finished the dive, and to anyone who didn't have experience with capital ship combat in space, the view would be disorienting and might even give them a bad case of vertigo.

Nelson and his crew on the other hand actually liked it and all grinned as they saw the broadsides pepper the ventral surface of their target.

"Sir, we hit something vital!" Joshua announced as internal explosions started to rip open the hull.

"Mark the target and tell everyone to get clear of it, starboard thrusters at full blast and move us down and out of range of the blast." Nelson ordered, bracing as his ship moved more like a falling brick.

Quickly, the Eclipse ships near the doomed heavy destroyer scattered to get out of the blast radius and find other enemies to engage. 47 seconds after Nelson had issued the order, the ship detonated in an enormous white and yellow fireball with debris flying in all directions. A larger chunk of the hull impacted on a Crandolian frigate, breaking the shields instantly and tearing the smaller ship in half. Another sizable chunk glanced off of a Keldabe's dorsal shields and took a bit of their top starboard engine with it. Debris peppered everything within range, hurting more Crandolian and Black Moon ships than Eclipse while both sides continued to fight.

"That was the largest ship in orbit, sir." Ops announced with a hint of happiness in his tone.

"Move us to engage whatever is next on the list then." Nelson said, "And please inform all captains that the probable command ship of the enemy fleet is now nothing more than a debris field."

"Aye sir, moving to intercept another carrier." Joshua stated.

"Fire at will and get a squadron to cover our approach. Helm, all ahead full." the Captain replied with a slight grin. The bigger ships were still being picked off one by one and the numerical advantage the Crandolians had was slowly diminishing. Despite the nasty surprise and being outnumbered, the Eclipse fleet could actually pull off a victory, there was hope.

_"We may actually win this."_


	23. Chapter 22

Another burning chunk of debris hit the ground and made the entire city block shake. Hannah silently cursed their luck as her team continued down the street through the smoke while deflecting what blaster fire they could.

They had been on the ground barely an hour and then the wreckage began to fall.

Whether by logistical error or by sheer horrid luck, most of the debris from the battle in space was falling on the hemisphere the army was located on which posed a problem for both factions fighting for control of the capital city. While it provided a significant morale boost to see that the only pieces of wreckage the Eclipse let fall through the atmosphere were Crandolian and Black Moon, the fact that they had to let any through at all was a pain whenever one of the larger pieces hit the ground.

Or a full husk. Those were the worst.

Hannah shook the troubling thought of the last impact from her head as she jumped up to a second story window to pay the sniper harassing a squad of shock troopers a small visit and was surprised to see an entire platoon waiting for her. Though, not specifically for her, more along the lines of making sure that floor was secure and that the sniper could do his job.

General Carlson jumped back out of the window a few moments later with a smile under her visor as the automated cleaning system got the blood off of it. She landed in the street a few yards behind her personal platoon and sprinted to catch up, sidestepping a mortar blast and using the detonation to help her get forward faster.

"Any reports from upstairs, lieutenant?" she asked.

"Only a handful of the bastards left up there trying to play guerilla with Nelson's right flank while the engineering corps is starting on orbital defenses just in case. War's also officially been declared, Jacobs has been been having a wonderful time repelling multiple bugger -fleets- while we've been vacationing." one of the women, an Iridonian, replied.

"Well then I guess we need to make this a successful vacation now don't we?" Hannah quipped back as a plasma shell went flying overhead.

"Yes ma'am." most of the platoon replied, the others were too busy concentrating on Force barriers keeping the squads that were setting up mobile defenses behind them safe long enough for them to do their job.

"We move as soon as the stationary guns are mounted and ready, Squad 2, stay with 1 and keep the engineers safe, everyone else spread out and double check to make sure this area is clear."

* * *

"We need to rethink our tactics... badly." Nelson muttered as he looked over the casualty reports floating above the holotable.

"Sir?" Joshua inquired.

"We're using Imperial and Rebel tactics... the same crap that's been used for thousands of years. Firing line or guerilla; no in between... we need to innovate like we have with our technology."

"There aren't exactly that many viable options in vacu-"

"There are though... we've just given our first blow in a war that could last years against a numerically superior and in many regards, technologically superior enemy. We adapt or we die, especially with results like this."

"I'd dare venture to say that this battle will go down in history as one of the greatest victories in orbit of this war, sir."

"Maybe..." Nelson replied, pulling up an overview of the planet and the surrounding space, "But it could have been much less costly..."

"Hindsight is always perfect, sir."

* * *

"How's our air cover?" Hannah asked, looking over the small display on her arm that showed a map of the city.

"Still trickling in, most of it is occupied keeping what's left of the bugger fleet away from the capital ships. Not enough to cover the armor advance properly but it's the best we can afford; the fleets are being mobilized and we may be on our own for a while." the air control AI replied.

"Oh for the love of... Forn gets hit with a fleet and suddenly the entire Republic is marching off to war; regardless, get me at least a squadron to cover our armor while they push through. With any luck, we'll have the city and the generators intact when we start flushing out what's left of the Crandos."

"I'll see what I can do ma'am. Just be warned that Nelson may mobilize all fighters if reinforcements arrive."

"I'm actually counting on it. Get it done."

"Yellow and Grey should be on their way down; you have 10 minutes until they get there." the AI replied, getting a small nod from Hannah as she cut the channel. "Alright everyone, move out! Tanks are showing up in 5, air cover in 10 and I want us ready to move as soon as the final push starts."

* * *

"Our counter-terrorist teams have just stopped a bombing that we can link to the Black Moon _and_ the Crandolian Navy was the main reason Vev hasn't been secured yet. War is has been declared on us whether this council likes it or not so I suggest those of you who are still holding out for peace in the name of your office and nothing more to stow it!" Torcille barked.

"Now just see her-"

"No. I will not just see here you self-righteous jackass; we are being attacked on all fronts and you want to try to negotiate? Nelson and Jacobs and every other officer in the fleet have men and women dieing right now to make sure we can argue without getting shot. We vote to fight and then once our borders are secure, maybe... _maybe_ we can try and go for a peace that hasn't been an option since we arrived." the former captain growled at one of the senators causing most of the room to fall silent. That was until one of the younger ones, a representative from one of the outermost colonies, spoke up.

"I motion that we open negotiations with the Lumarians... and pursue a military alliance."

"Clarify, please." Torcille replied, his tone suddenly becoming much less harsh.

"They're at war with the Black Moon who are apparently now working with the Crandolian Empire; why not? All we need to do is convince them that Abyss Incident was not caused by us... we could also use all the fresh boots we can get. Reports from my world are still coming in and while the fleets are holding, it's only a matter of time before we get swamped."

"Go on..."

"Chancellor Torcille... you're a military man and you've always told this council since it was created to stand together or die; I believe it's time we did the same with out galactic neighbors."

"Or at least the ones who don't shoot us on sight." another senator chimed in, and for the first time in months, the Chancellor of the Eclipse Republic gave a genuine smile.

"Please remind me of your name, son." he asked the young senator with his trademark 'father to his men' tone.

"Tinto, sir. Kyle Tinto."

* * *

Canderous Assault tanks roared down the street as Skiprays, V-Wings, and ARC-170ms screamed through the sky. Explosions ripped through buildings while enemy vehicles and gun emplacements detonated violently and infantry on the defensive walls the Lumarians had left behind before they were forcibly pushed from Vev fell like flies.

Along with this massive offensive, bounding across rooftops and off the walls, were the remaining 19 Knights of 7th Battalion under command of General Hannah Carlson cutting through anything in their path like angry unstoppable spirits.

They almost didn't notice when one of their number took a plasma round to the elbow and fell to the street below with a sickening crunch. Hannah silently cursed before sending a Force wave at the pillbox that fired the round, sending the closest wall flying against the far one, sandwiching everyone inside instantly.

"Keep moving! No quarter!" she shouted, leaping off another roof and landing on the defensive wall. Blaster bolts closed in instantly only to be sent right back to the soldiers who fired them. One or two smacked against her personal shields, the rest found their marks and an entire platoon of Black Moon marines suddenly had new holes in their chests. Her remaining Knights landed shortly after and mere moments after they had started carving through the enemy, the regulars arrived.

LAAT/is flew overhead, dropping troops off behind the walls and all over the capital building while sections of the wall were blasted away for the tanks to move through. It was the first part of the offensive that had gone off without a hitch or complication, that was until their air cover suddenly arced up and cut loose for orbit.

"Someone tell me why my air support just disappeared!?" Hannah barked, "SITREP. Now!"

"Forgive the sudden acquisition, General, but things are about to get ugly up here. Crandolian Reinforcements are about to jump in and he needs as many birds up here as possible."

* * *

"How many ships do we have ready." Nelson asked quietly as the _Kindred Spirit_ sped towards the projected exit point of the incoming fleet.

"4 at most, including us, though almost every squadron we can spare is converging on us... we have 4 minutes." Joshua said.

"Enemy count?"

"20 or higher." the Ops officer replied, "Including another heavy destroyer."

"Well then I guess we don't really have much of a choice than to delay... if she gets through the ground team won't last long and we still have at least an hour until the rest of the fleet is refueled and rearmed... any ship that can get to the fight upon being resupplied is to do so immediately, for now I want our ships behind their projected exit zone; make sure to give it a wide berth."

"Lucky 7 is ready for launch; flight officer Kaylin is requesting permission to have her men disable the heavy destroyer by themselves." comms announced.

"Granted." Nelson replied, finally turning around and walking back to his chair. _"This is not going to end well unless...-"_ he thought, watching the Crandolian ships jump in.

_"Well I'll be damned."_

* * *

"All fighters move in! Open fire and give'em hell!" Kaylin barked over just about every FIGHTCOM frequency she was allowed to. Hundreds of of engine flares lit up the space around them as bombers and fighters screamed forward.

"Looks like they're missing carrier support." Heroz said, noting the lack of enemy fighters.

"Probably didn't think their fleet would be wiped out before they got here. Time to make'em pay for being late to our party."

* * *

"Angle the us so our starboard side is aiming down and get the broadsides ready. Have the emergency thrusters get ready to fire." Nelson ordered, smiling as he instantly felt the ship begin to shift.

"Might I ask what you're planning?" Joshua asked.

"21 ships in two separate groups. A sound formation but it leaves the middle open for someone to move through and fire; I want every missile we have ready to fire as well, 90 degree fire arcs with no forward acceleration until I give the order."

"Or get trapped and blasted to pieces by two battle groups."

"That's why we're using the emergency thrusters. They're designed to blast us onto a new trajectory, we're going straight in while the other ships start firing."

"Whatever you sa-"

"Thruster commands are hardwired to your chair sir, ready to go." the helm interrupted, making sure he was strapped in carefully.

"Here goes nothing then." Nelson muttered. He double checked his strap before pressing the button.

Instantly, the _Kindred Spirit_ was flying towards the middle of the Crandolian formation. A few seconds before they made contact, every missile battery on the ship launched, the missiles themselves didn't go far, only maneuvering enough to be pointing at the enemy ships.

Usually when a missile is fired from an Eclipse, or any ship in space really, it has to overcome whatever velocities are being forced upon it by its host ship before speeding off towards the target. Most captains never realize this and because of it, missiles and rockets usually aren't used for ship to ship, and instead for taking out singlecraft.

In this case however, Nelson had every single missile at his disposal, around 400 in total, already going towards the target before he pressed the second button on the command console and activated the propulsion systems in each one of them. With the added velocity, the impact on the Crandolian shields and hull armor was multiplied by almost 5, sending the entire rear guard smashing into the ships in front of them while an Aggressor-class destroyer opened up with every gun she had right in the middle of the formation.

"Fire aft thrusters once we're clear and maneuver us to get our main cannon aimed at that heavy destroyer!" Nelson ordered, smiling at detonations from collisions before straining to sit up in his seat. The bulkhead groaned as Joshua got the ship 'righted' and let the forward turbolasers open up. Nelson simply nodded at the holotank next to him before being rewarded with a flash of blinding red and seeing a meteor sized ball of super-heated plasma soar towards the flagship of this reinforcement group.

Usually whenever the main gun was fired, it was to either completely destroy a smaller ship, or to take out the shields of larger ones. In this case, the shields of the heavy destroyer were already gone thanks to the combined efforts of Nelson's strange maneuver, Lucky 7 doing their part, and a frigate bouncing off of the larger vessel. Red plasma baked the front half of the ship, effectively crippling it as the command deck ceased to exist.

"I'll never doubt you again. Orders?" Joshua said in reply to the carnage.

"Tell Lucky 7 to kill the engines on that bastard, I want one mostly intact so the boys at R&D can give us a leg up. Destroy the rest and try to make sure nothing falls on the ground teams."

* * *

"This is just getting worse and worse..." Hannah said quietly, looking out of the blast hole before ducking back under.

"I'm just wondering why they set a trap _after_ we took the main base. Who the hell traps the enemy inside the main base?" a sergeant piped up.

"Bug-brains and pirates; I think the real question is who leaves the shield generator in one piece and doesn't counter attack until the enemy army is fully inside the base." the General quipped back.

"Probably a timing error on their part, you know how buggers get. They see something shiny and the entire mission is put on hold." the Iridonian lieutenant countered, causing everyone within earshot to burst out laughing.

The laughter died quickly though, the situation was getting worse and worse despite their favorable position. The walls they had so gladly blown chunks out of were now their defenses and what was left of the enemy, seeing that escape was no longer an option, had organized a massive counter-attack while the Eclipse was clearing out the Site. In the span of 20 minutes, they had gone from liberating the capital to holding out in trenches while automated and manned stationary guns laid down cover fire.

Mortars usually cleared out whatever the heavy guns were pinning down.

Though the security did offer one advantage Hannah had not foreseen. Emergency protocols had gone into effect in the sublevels and a team of scientists were already down below trying to figure out what the Vev did, and she was receiving updates with increasing frequency, almost to the minute.

"Comm's buzzing again, ma'am." someone muttered.

"What's going on now, doctor?" she replied once her hand got to her ear.

"We've found out what Vev is, General; storage, storage for what looks like a ship. We've never seen anything like this and the design doesn't even fit anything from the Omega Initiative... there are also cryopods, or at least what we think are cryo pods all around it... it... ma'am. One of them is..." the reply came, stuttering suddenly before cutting for a few moments.

"Doctor? Doctor Snayh? Gregor, what's going on down there?"

"General... we're sending someone up... one of the men from the pods. He wants to speak with you." he replied before the audio cut again. Hannah scowled before looking over to the elevator shaft that had suddenly become active, while she didn't sense danger from it, she was still uneasy.

It only took 3 minutes for the door to make the affirmative tone and open up. Once it was open a single figure in grey armor walked out of the small box and into the open, looking down at everyone before singling in on general Carlson. He was roughly 10 feet in height and the armor was bulky, made up of several layers of thin armored plates on top of a single black mesh suit. The helmet was the same color with a pale red visor that covered most of the front which stayed polarized as he stared Hannah down.

"General?" he asked, his rather deep voice booming over the external speakers of the helmet.

"Yes... and you are?"

"Chris-Z9571, ACAS _Grey Ghost_. I believe you are having a pest problem, and I intend to help you fix that."


	24. Chapter 23

"What... who..." Hannah babbled for a moment before composing herself. "ACAS?"

"Alliance Council Assault Ship, ma'am." Chris replied, his tone surprisingly level and calm despite being filtered through a helmet. "My onboard AI has already interfaced with something resembling an artificial intelligence and informed me of the... very long nap me and the rest of the crew have just woken up from."

"What are you doing in am Omega Initiative bun-" she began saying before another impact make the ground shudder. "I can learn later when you speak to Ed; right now though I'm going to take you up on that pest removal problem."

"Agreed. The _Ghost_ is already prepping for launch and should be rising out of the city within the hour... I suggest getting your troops inside this bunker if you want them to live and clear the sky above... this part of the city." he replied as a holographic display came to life courtesy of the projectors on his helmet. A large section of the city started flashing slowly causing the General's eyes to widen; it had to be nearly three miles in length.

"As I said, within the hour; though she'll be working with a skeleton bridge crew."

"Just how many sentients does it take to run your ship?"

"Around 5,000 last time we did a headcount, though it's not my ship."

"Then who is your CO?" Hannah asked, eyebrow rising slowly.

"Admiral James H. Mendez."

* * *

"Fire on the wreckage before it hits the atmosphere, I don't want our ground teams having to fight off more debris and the buggers." Nelson ordered. The _Kindred Spirit_ was drifting lazily towards the rest of the fleet, on its way to get repaired after fighting off the battle group that had been late to the party. His crew was battered and suffered nine percent casualties, but compared to what the battle group would have done left unchallenged, he was at least sure that the new sacrifices weren't in vain.

"Intel from the surface is trickling in but apparently, we're going to have _friendly_ company up here in thirty minutes." the Comms officer reported.

"And the repair stations?"

"Two are almost near completion in orbit and can start operations tomorrow." Joshua added, "And judging by our position, it's suddenly becoming very apparent why the Council decided to have you go through with this assault."

"We're securing a launching point." Nelson said, "From here we can strike into the unknown and a secure holding buffer planet between the enemy and Forn... I'd rather not have our prime shipyards be attacked directly again."

"Noted si- Admiral, trouble." Joshua announced making Nelson shudder at the mention of his proper rank.

"SITREP." he ordered bluntly.

"Larger husk, half of the heavy cruiser, is on its way down to the planet and no one has enough ordinance to stop it. _Triumphant_ is already moving out of the way and getting a firing angle ready... not much she can do though, sir."

"Alert ground teams and get a precise ETA on that bastard."

"20 minutes and counting, trajectory suggests impact within the capital city limits or outskirts; she'll hit with a snail's pace but if you can imagine a snail using a few dozen CIS Seismic Tanks, you'll get the idea." Joshua responded. "It's not going to be pretty."

* * *

"Tell me more about yourself, Senator; I haven't quite noticed you before today's meeting." Torcille said as he and Senator Tinto continued their walk along the promenade.

"That's because this is only my third meeting... I'm the newest representative from New Taris... as well as a member of the Knights."

"Really now? I never pegged you as Force Sensitive... especially since active members don't usually involve themselves with politics."

"Not quite an academy drop-out but home called and I answered, sir. I'm still a Knight, I just happen to be a Senator first."

"Admirable, to say the least... and definitely one way to increase your life expectancy." the Chancellor replied with a grin.

"Not that 'The Old War Dog' would know anything about living longer." Kyle replied with a smirk, causing the older man next to him to chuckle lightly.

"Is that what they call me? My my, they must know more about me than I thought."

"Just what I overhear, Chancellor."

"Of course of course..." Torcille mused before coming to a stop, taking a look at the sunset, "What you did today pissed off a large chunk of the Senate and a fairly large portion of the War Council."

"I'm sorry but it needed to be do-"

"I'm not criticizing you, Tinto... for the past year and a half, every senator elected has been a bigger pain in my side than those damned defense drones here on Aurek when we first had to fight for it... and whether Nelson likes it or not, Force users will once again be the deciding factor in our galaxy, just like the old one."

"Chancellor...?"

"Shit's already hit the fan and we're at war with our greatest rival..." he said, the military creeping into his tone and vernacular, "...and all those self-concerned shab heads can think about is their own position. You... you my boy, are going to help me and the military win this war. People need hope during war and we're going to be knee-deep in our own blood before too long; I need someone competent to help me call out corrupt senators and help get the right people in office... I need someone willing to propose what others view as taboo."

"You're not trying to pull a Palpatine, are you...?"

"Oh of course not, though I do admire your knowledge of a past that isn't yours... I want a Republic that's more concerned about the people than it is about power, expansion, and... reputation."

"Someone to piss them all off and remind them why we were elected in the first place?"

"Round about, yes. Barely two years in and we're having to deal with the same crap as before and I want it to stop... for that, I need people who are more devoted to their job."

"You can count me in, sir."

"I knew I could... though, one more thing; about your eyes... are you really...?"

"Yes sir; I'm a Miraluka."

* * *

"Prepare to open up the vault doors." Mendez ordered.

"What about the incoming contact?" one of his officers asked.

"Thomason's already calculated the trajectory, it won't hit us. Open the doors." the Admiral ordered.

"Aye sir." the Executive Officer replied.

* * *

Four things were causing the city to shudder; the multi-ton burning wreck of half of a Crandolian ship approaching from orbit, debris landing before it, the guns of the Keldabe Carrier/Battleship firing on the wreck in an attempt to take it down to size, and the fact that the city was splitting in half ten miles from the capital building and continued on for three miles more.

The entire Eclipse assault force, or at least what was left of it in that sector of the planet, hunkered down as the debris kept falling and the light in the sky got progressively brighter and looked more and more like Hell's huttball. Chris on the other hand stood firm with General Carlson, looking out of the few remaining intact slits left in the bunker while a living nightmare continued to rain fiery vengeance upon them almost to spite the valiant efforts of those in orbit.

"ETA, 5 minutes." the AI in Chris' suit announced. It had a pleasant voice for a male personality, nice and bright but not nasally and obnoxious. It was named Bountiful Harvest but simply went by Harvest as far as she could tell, other than that though, the soldier next to her and everything about him was a complete mystery.

A piece of debris impacting the top of the bunker shook her out of her thoughts and nearly sent her to her feet had it not been for the wall mere inches in front of her. Luckily it was her armored arms that stopped her from falling and not her faceplate.

Chris hadn't moved an centimeter.

"Are you even human?" she asked quietly.

"Used to be... but I believe that's a story best told once in the presence of your... partner?" he said, not quite sure what to call Captain Nelson in relation to her given their ranks. Hannah was once again glad that the faceplate was reflective, as it hid the light responsive blush despite knowing that _that_ was not what this ancient warrior meant.

"Sounds about right, he's SUPCOM of the Navy and I'm SUPCOM of the Army." she replied, bracing again as another large chunk of hull plating landed on the bunker. Once the smoke cleared again, her jaw dropped in sheer shock of what she saw. You never really got the scale of the capital ships until you saw them through a HUD instead of a cockpit or bridge display, and the molten blob of metal hurtling towards them reminded her of just how small her and the rest of the army was compared to the sheer might that space-faring navies tossed around.

Even Chris hit the dirt, crouching and bracing against the wall both to help keep it up and to get the maximum available protection from it. She did the same, trying to keep her cool despite this scene right out of the holos showing Malak's destruction of Taris during the Jedi Civil War. Wind started sending buildings flying into the walls of the capital building as the husk neared the planets surface at a steady pace, never quite having enough time to reach terminal velocity given the size.

What scared her the most though, and she was not going to fool herself into believing that she wasn't scared at all during this ordeal, was when it finally made landfall. The walls in the bunker began cracking just from the shockwave that coursed through the city. The dust cloud sent up as it impacted the ground 12 miles away was enough to flatten almost every building about one story in its wake and those left standing were missing at least two walls by the time that the second shockwave hit the city.

The second wave was worse than the first one and sent Hannah straight onto her ass for a moment before she recovered. The first one had just been the shockwave, but now the ground was shaking like a magnitude 10 earthquake had decided to start up. She barely got back to bracing the wall when the second dust wall hit the city and made the constant shaking of the ground worse than it already was.

The smaller aftershocks continued for what seemed like days but was only a few minutes and it was a good fifteen minutes before Hannah could finally stand up and look out from the rubble that was the front wall of their bunker and the city they had fought through and onto the horizon. Sticking out of the ground like a horrible growth was a pillar of metal, warped by the impact and still glowing from reentry. It's what was hovering next to the obscene metal monument that really caught her eye though, that left her as speechless as every other soldier slowly dusting themselves off and looking out from their shelter.

A dark grey ship, 2.5 kilometers in length and .75 in width at the widest point, the Omega Initiative Insignia and two others that she didn't recognize emblazoned on the hull, and what looked to be like a conning tower, much like that of an ancient fighter-carrier, on the back dorsal end of the ship. Tons and tons of dirt, dust, and debris continued to slide off of her shields only to join the tons of everything that had been kicked up in the impact creating an almost shimmering effect around her.

"Pride of the fleet?" Hannah finally asked when she noticed Chris standing to her immediate left left again.

"You could say that..." he replied, his helmet finally pulling back to reveal a human head with various small wires embedded in it or connecting the base of his skull to his suit. His eyes were glowing from the cybernetic enhancements and the pride he was radiating as he continued to look upon his ship, his home, finally above the ground again.

"You could _definitely_ say that..."

* * *

"All teams are reporting in; casualties from the crash are at zero percent." Joshua announced, "All we need to do now is extract and start rebuilding; we have only half of a major city left and the remaining ones are surrendering... we've also sent a ping to any refugee ships that were forced from here that it's safe to return."

"And our new friend on the surface?" Nelson asked quietly, mulling over the data and preparing the standard report.

"On its way up with General Carlson and what's left of the assault force."

"I'll be meeting a shuttle in the hangar, I take it?" the Captain asked, more of a statement than a question though.

"You have 10 minutes until Admiral Mendez, his personal guard, and the remains of the 7th Battalion arrive."

Those ten minutes passed rather quickly as Nelson literally ran down to the hangar, not bothering to change out of his armor uniform before entering the hangar just as the doors opened. The environmental shields were constantly up thanks to the torpedo hit they had taken in the opening fight and he was lucky that there was even a usable hallway left to the hangar at all at the time.

He stowed his annoyance though since it was the only hangar available while the squadrons docked and started their repairs and decided to stow the false attitude as well. Whoever this Mendez was, he might as well see what sort of hell this entire ordeal had been for everyone.

Three shuttles that looked more like combat drop ships landed side by side in perfect unison, the doors opening in a similar fashion. Nelson watched as an older officer in a dark blue uniform walked out. Five gold bars leading to six gold stars in a hexagon were patterned on each of his shoulders and the name 'Mendez' was stenciled right below his sternum on the left.

Oddly enough, the man also had a set of glasses, something Nelson had only heard of but never actually seen. Next to him was a monstrous soldier in dark grey what had to be power armor standing guard while medical teams scrambled to get the wounded to the medical bays.

Last out was Hannah, helmet folded back into her armor and hair a total mess after letting it out of the ponytail. She walked up quickly and slugged Nelson in the gut causing him to reel back a little. He stood back up and gave her an affirmative nod as she stormed off towards either the meditation room or their quarters, he never knew which until he walked in the door.

"Admiral Nelson, I presume?" Mendez finally asked, extending a hand as he walked forward.

"Correct, though I still prefer to go by my old rank of Captain." he replied, taking it and shaking, almost not noticing the remaining Knights taking up color guard-esque positions behind him. "I believe a proper briefing is in order but I must confess, my entire fleet is dead tired and the only one that would be able to stay away properly through it all would be Joshua."

"I could always ping your neural implant during the meeting, sir." the AI quipped back.

"Stow it." Nelson replied in almost a growl before letting out another sigh, "This said... in 24 hours, there will be a meeting in the communications center which Joshua will help you find. Until then, me, and the rest of my men are going to try and get some well needed rest... both of you are free to come and go as you wish, I can assign a guide if necessary."

"Thank you, Ad-... Captain; we'll be happy to get a full update of galactic events since our time in stasis began." Mendez replied, a hint of a grin appearing on his face.

"My pleasure. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to consult with General Carlson about today's battles." Nelson finally finished, giving a polite nod before walking off.

* * *

The last thing she had expected after such a hellish day was for him to be so... receptive. She knew he was loyal but she never expected him to do _this_ for her. Oh well, she didn't really give a damn, she was finally safe again.

Ed was nursing quite a few bruises now thanks to her 'ranting' before she finally broke down. He knew that the day was hard on her, losing even one Knight was a big mental and emotional strain for the survivors, but losing eleven in one battle was... horrible, to say the least and she still wasn't quite ready to deal with being the Republic's resident Grand Master. With the husk impact on top of that, he was almost surprised she even bothered to wail on him in her usual fashion before resigning to using the fearsome and 'invincible' Captain Nelson as a pillow.

She had new scars, she was filthy, and he could tell by how her remaining organic muscles felt under her skin that she was sore as hell... not that he really gave a damn, they were both safe and together again, even if both now had their fair share of injuries to deal with.

But they were still all in one piece, something their last traumatic ordeal failed to accomplish. They wouldn't joke about being able to comfort each other with limbs this time, there would be no mention of the Abyssal Incident; all there would be until it was time for them to wash up, get ready, and pretend like they were just old platonic buddies, was them being there for each other as they could finally let out a sigh of relief.

Their duties were done for now. They had done their jobs.

The Battle of Vev Site was finally over.


	25. Chapter 24

Vev System  
Briefing Room, _Kindred Spirit_  
Centax 27, 2 NRC  
0850

"Just tell me what you have, Ed." Torcille replied.

"It's all in the repor-"

"Just tell me, please."

"You just want to get out of paperwork, don't you?" Nelson quipped back, smirking at the Chancellor.

"Guilty as charged, just tell me what you have." the older man replied with a chuckle.

"The entire crew has been in stasis since before Izzi went inactive a few thousand years ago; crew numbers exactly 5,792 including bridge crew and marine compliment and their invasion capabilities are... adequate."

"And their ship?"

"The ACAS _Grey Ghost_, last of its class in the Alliance Navy; built along with the super soldier class that Chris is part of to combat Abyss... needless to say, it didn't quite work out." Joshua replied, his subroutines giving the AI equivalent to a smirk upon seeing Torcille access the report.

"And this alliance... Omega, Cyroladian, and-"

"Pirinion, the people we just picked up." Nelson interjected, "An Alliance out of necessity to combat Abyss who we regretfully still have no new intel about... his origins are as much a mystery to them as it is to us."

"Alliance out of necessity..." Torcille mumbled before looking back up at the hologram in front of him. "Not much intel on the super soldier."

"They weren't exactly in a sharing mood other than telling us he was mostly machine parts and armor." Hannah added this time, finally standing up from her leaning space on the wall. "Tough bastard, I'll give him that; like the ground equivalent of their ship."

"I'm not to that part of the report, mind filling in the blanks, Captain?"

"Of course... the buggers sent in another squad of capital ships and..."

* * *

Vev System  
Centax 26, NRC 2  
2300

"Get the guns up and ready the HBC." Mendez barked. Time was of the essence and frankly he was ready to get his ship back up to fighting shape.

"Weapons charging, anti-singlecraft guns loaded and ready." the weapons officer announced.

"Shields at 100 percent, Admiral."

"Fighters ready for launch."

"And I'm fine too, thank you for asking." another voice chimed in above the din of officers. On a holobank next to the main viewscreen, an AI avatar popped up showing the rather stoic face of Thomason, the _Grey Ghost_ shipborne AI; unlike the AIs on board Eclipse ships, he was at some point a humanoid being who chose to let the Omega Initiative work their elusive technomagic and turn him into what he was today.

"Just double check everything and get us ready to blast whatever jumps in." Mendez replied, looking around the angular and barely lit bridge. Apparently it had been over 3000 years since he had commanded from his chair, but that didn't bother him too much. They hadn't missed anything and had they been out of stasis at the time of Abyss' imprisonment, he highly doubted that they would have survived that final conflict.

"Radar shows ten enemy ships, one of which is roughly the same dimensions of the ship that landed next to us upon leaving the vault. ETA two minutes." Tom told Mendez, "And we're battle ready. Our new friends are giving us the green light to engage and will back us up with fighter support."

"HBC?"

"Already targeting the estimated exit point and fully charged." Weapons stated.

"Let's get to it then... time to show these Eclipse kids how to fight."

A heavy destroyer, four frigates, three cruisers, and two light carriers entered realspace about 200 kilometers forward of the _Grey Ghost_. Almost immediately, their shields began to flare as projectile and laser tracer fire arced towards the small battle group. One of the frigates actually started listing after its shields were overwhelmed and the engines on the smaller vessel's port side detonated.

"Tight formation, they don't know about the main gun." Tom said quietly.

"Time to educate them?" Chris replied, looking over to Mendez.

"Weapons station... please give these 'Crandolians' a lesson on proper weapon design." Mendez ordered with a grin. "Target the destroyer, maximum yield."

* * *

The bow of the _Grey Ghost_ started to glow, the forward prongs sending off arcing lightning as hellish orange energy continued to build up. Once it finally reached critical levels, a beam of pure energy fired from the prow with enough force to send it backwards a full kilometer before the thrusters compensated.

The beam did not impact the heavy destroyer, it simply made the shields fail upon impact and passed through it with no trouble. The larger ship began breaking apart while all the ships around it began melting with the intense heat before their engineering decks detonated. Fightercraft trying to escape the beam became small puffs of smoke in the vacuum, melted husks of ships detonated, and the heavy destroyer at the center of it all simply ceased to exist.

* * *

Vev System  
Briefing Room, _Kindred Spirit_  
Centax 27, 2 NRC  
0855

"No survivors, no debris... just superheated dust." Nelson said, the holopad showing a 3D image of the _Ghost_ shutting off as he continued his story. "Long story short, we should be glad that they want to work with us."

"Get scans if you can, we can talk about this all later with your new friends. For now, we have another issue on our hands." Torcille replied.

"Issue?"

"Something I can't talk about over a com channel. Bring your battle group back to Aurek, I expect you to leave Vev before 1100. Once you arrive I'll brief you aboard the _Spirit_ and from there we'll get to work... time is of the essence and I'm going to need you at the top of your game."

"As you wish Chancellor..." Nelson replied quietly, looking a little uneasy as the feed cut before a he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy there, Edward... I'm sure whatever is going on it'll be for the better." Hannah said.

"Did you sense anything?"

"Torcille's worry is worn on his sleeves... but it's a mixture of the war and something going on at Aurek." she replied, "But I also sensed something oddly familiar about the staff in his room... he might have made nice with the Knights while we've been gone."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Nelson quipped, "The Senate isn't exactly friendly and he needs all the friends he can get."

"Sounds like someone else I know who's knee deep in a war." Hannah added, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before starting towards the door. "I'll be meditating in our room if you need anything, hopefully I feel a jump to hyperspace within the hour and we get to enjoy a slightly longer 'vacation' than usual?"

"If I can sneak back into our quarters without any of the crew noticing, yes. If I can't, then still yes." Nelson replied with a smirk, getting a slightly confused look from General Carlson.

"You're not worried about people knowing about a severe breach in fraternization rules?"

Nelson didn't reply right away. He looked over at the holoprojector for a moment before leaning against the briefing room table and looking back at her.

"Not really; we're stuck in another war and I almost lost you in the last one."

"You never stopped having the nightmares, did you...?" she asked, turning away from the door and making sure it was locked.

"He... the entire Xesh Incident is still fresh in my mind different nights, I've just gotten better at hiding it for the sake of my job." Nelson replied quietly, walking over and pulling Hannah into an embrace, "They'll stop eventually. For now though, let's focus on recovering from this battle and then win this war."

"Aye aye." Hannah said, leaving a gentle kiss on his lips before jumping to the door and opening it, "Admiral." she added with a smirk, disappearing from view before Nelson could so much as shout.

"Damnit Hannah!"

* * *

"I want fire control on decks 3 through 5 active _now_!" Jacobs barked, "And bring the _Alderaan_ up on coms, we may need her sooner than I thought."

"She's already en route, Captain." Horizon replied, "Fire control is also working as hard as they can but that hit was a little harder than I would have liked it to be."

"We saved a frigate from getting split in half. 2000 lives is worth a hard hit to the armor."

"Agreed, sir... General Hyain is on the horn."

"On screen." Jacobs replied, looking up at the main screen and giving a small grin. General Hyain was looking like a new recruit about to ride his first Basilisk.

"Please tell me I can finally bring her in and show these bugger shab-heads what real firepower is."

"I want the _Alderaan_ ready with the port facing away from the Sovereigns; close fire support, fighter support, and then if things get really messy, you can show off and launch your frigates."

"It will be my pleasure."

"Just get into position before the next assault comes in... any word on Nelson?" Jacobs asked, waiting a moment for Hyain to turn back around after giving out orders.

"He's on his way back to Aurek as we speak. Vev is secure for now and he has friends... some sort of ancient ship and crew."

"I'll read a debrief when it runs across my desk." the older captain replied quietly. "Keep safe when you arrive and if anything breaks through us, I get to blame you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Captain. Hyain out."

* * *

"We have missed much since the passing of the old worlds..." Mendez murmured.

"It seems their best chance for survival though found us right when they needed us." Chris replied, "And they have powers; the female who I spoke to had telekinesis, telepathy, and by the looks of it, bio-mechanical augmentation."

"Nelson appeared to have the same... real question is whether or not we can trust them."

"We have no reason not to." the cyborg noted.

"And they've been nothing but honest with us so far, Admiral." Tom added, "I think the only real choice is to side with them... Crandolians don't seem to fond of humanoids."

"They don't seem to fond of anything to do with the Eclipse." Chris said.

"Regardless... the real threat is still out there doing who-knows-what, freed by accident after... after..." Mendez started, leaving the rest unsaid as while it had been thousands of years since they had been frozen, the memories of Centauri Minor were still fresh in the old officer's mind.

"After my kind went extinct, sir." Chris finished. "Odds favor us making an official agreement, sir."

"I know, the math plays out and our only real option is trust... make sure we can talk to this 'chancellor' once we enter realspace again." Mendez finally ordered with a sigh.

"Aye sir." Tom replied quietly.

* * *

"If you damage my bird, I'll beat you within an inch of your life and then throw you out the airlock." Kaylin growled while still being practically drug out of the hangar bay by Heroz. When he finally got her out of there and onto a turbolift, she visibly started to loosen up.

"You did good out there... so let the techs do good in the hangar and relax while you can." Heroz said, patting her on the shoulder.

"I know bud, I know... just hard to relax after a two day engagement."

"Well we have a week before we start 'official' shore leave... stop by the gym tomorrow and I'll work my magic on those sore arms of yours, ok?" Heroz replied, giving a reassuring smile.

"I think I put a little too much effort into that last dive today..." she added with a smirk and a slight nod.

"And if you hadn't we'd be a small crater on the side of a husk."

"Damn straight."

* * *

"You have failed once again on the same damn front as before." Abyss' booming voice echoed.

"In my defense, my lo-" the Crandolian admiral being chewed out tried to say but he quickly found himself unable to make any noise at all.

"In the filth! Not only have you not managed to break their blockade but you've lost Chi! The Eclipse has an ally even your largest ships can't hope to match and you think you have a _defense_!? Something to curb my wrath!?"

"M-my... my lord... please..." he stammered.

"Failure of such a high caliber means death." Abyss said, his tone still harsh but lowering in volume. "And one of this... magnitude means a very painful and slow death."

"Front lines or No Hope?" a softer voice asked, the Queen had finally come in, scowling at the list of disappointing setbacks she had just heard.

"Front Lines as a grunt..." the near-god replied, walking down from his throne and picking the admiral up by his neck, "If you survive a year of combat on the front lines, which I highly doubt, your wings shall be removed and you get to go to No Hope for the rest of your life." he finished, tossing him into the nearest wall. The guards promptly took the unconscious and shamed officer out of the throne room leaving the Queen and Abyss in silence.

"He was my best Admiral... if he couldn't break them then something has changed in the game since the intelligence reports came in." she remarked.

"Best admiral to date, someone will take over for him... a subordinate who has proven himself in battle."

"And the cycle will continue until you have to lead the charge yourself?"

_"Until we have no further use for your incompetent military."_ Abyss thought before looking over to Ilea.

"That's about right... still, this defeat is... more troubling to me than I'd like to admit. The _Ghost_ and her crew within my grasp, ready to be snuffed out once and for all... and then that blasted _human_," he said, disgust practically dripping off of the word, "Ruining everything... he should not have been able to take nevertheless _hold_ against such superior numbers."

"I guess it's a good thing that Admiral Chikan is going to die then... either he's no match for Nelson, completely past his prime intellectually, or both."

"Most likely the latter of that list... no matter." Abyss replied, walking back up to his throne and putting his hand on the arm rest for a moment. "We shall not make the same mistake of underestimating the Eclipse again... they will fall, world by world." he finished, flexing his hand and breaking the arm rest off of his throne in the process.

"Until they're nothing more but ash at their savior's feet." Ilea finished, grinning at Abyss. "Don't worry, I'll have that fixed in no time." she added with a smirk that was returned by Abyss.

"Keep spoiling me and I might share power, my Queen." he quipped, starting towards the main hallway to the War Room. When he was gone, she took a seat in the throne that used to be exclusively hers, glancing out of one of the many large and ornate windows with a grin and noticing the body of the ex-admiral Czrarsh still mounted in pieces along the ramparts of the citadel for all to see. It was medieval in its brutality, yet she found charm in the extremity of the punishment.

_"I'll do more than just spoil you, Abyss... much, _much, _more..."_


	26. Chapter 25

Nelson woke with a start courtesy of the alarm going off in his neural implant. Slowly he sat up in his bed, taking care not to disturb Hannah in the process before getting out.

"What is it, Joshua?" he whispered.

"Urgent call from Aurek, Admiral. R&D has some news for your ears only."

"What about Carlson?" Nelson asked, looking back at the sleeping general for a moment.

"Later, but right now you're needed in the com room... it's about Xesh." Joshua stated, causing Nelson's eyes to widen slightly before he redoubled his efforts to get some clothing on.

* * *

"If this is about what I think it is, I want answers in full." Nelson said, looking up at the hologram of Doctor Nanda, the Eclipse's chief scientist.

"You'll have them, Admiral... and believe me, we're as excited about this breakthrough as you are." Nanda replied. He was one of the few Mon Calamari that was loyal to the Eclipse when they fled their home galaxy. "Not only can the teleporters transport organics safely... but they can transfer organics and inanimate material safely without merging."

"Something tells me I'm about to celebrate what you're going to say next."

"We're going to test ship transfers within the hour and hopefully, capital ship transfers within the week... if we can make gateways between our worlds... the tactical advantage would b-"

"Bigger than the Senate building on Coruscant... get those tests done. My fleet will be arriving in..."

"2 hours, sir." Joshua announced.

"2 hours and counting. I have business to attend to with the Chancellor and after that I want things ready for me to look at."

"Of course, Admiral." Dr. Nanda replied with a slight bow before the feed cut, leaving Nelson standing in a slightly darker com room alone with his thoughts and his memories.

* * *

16 ships, the _Kindred Spirit_ and _Grey Ghost_ included, entered realspace right outside of the range of the Aurek Orbital Defense Grid. Within the hour all of the vessels in Nelson's battle group were at drydock for comprehensive repair, refit, and resupply. Shortly after, shuttle after shuttle left the hangar bays of the ships and the drydocks themselves, carrying troops, officers, and other staff towards the surface of Aurek, specifically New Mandalore.

It left Nelson a little uneasy to have his ship so undermanned at the moment, like being caught in a fight with only your hands, but they had earned shore leave for at least a week and the fewer people on board during this Secrecy Tier 0 Meeting that Torcille had in mind, the better.

The guard contingent that Torcille brought with him however, got rid of what little peace of mind Nelson managed to give himself once they started walking from the hangar towards the bridge.

"Something tells me that you're not here to just tell me that your little problem is a clogged fresher." Nelson said, looking over at his old friend. Torcille nodded slowly, a scowl forming on his lips slowly.

"We'll be able to talk on the bridge..." the Chancellor muttered, motioning to his guards who took up positions on either side of the turbo lift door and the door to the bridge. Torcille, Nelson, Senator Tinto, and Hannah all entered the bridge quietly before the oldest of them took a seat in Nelson's command chair.

"Never thought I'd sit here..." Torcille whispered to himself before looking back up at Nelson. "You're helping me arrest the Senate."

* * *

Chris stood at attention the entire time that Mendez and an Eclipse intelligence officer debriefed each other. Boring was the easiest way to put how the super-soldier felt, but this was necessary for the sake of avoiding confusion in later missions... or at least it was until they started talking about Alliance history and the knowledge they had of the Omega Initiative.

"Sir, if I may..." he interjected as politely as he could, getting an affirmative nod from Admiral Mendez before he even had to ask. Gladly, Chris exited the briefing room and went straight to an information terminal. Within 20 minutes of his departure, he was entering a training room on one of the space stations.

_"Finally... some place that reminds me of home."_

* * *

Nelson visibly flinched as though he had been struck. Hannah reacted somewhat the same way, looking at Tinto for a moment before locking her gaze on the Chancellor.

"That... that is quite the task, sir..." Nelson whispered, standing back up straight.

"Edward, call me by my first name until we leave this room; I'm asking you to do this as a friend, your former second-in-command, and your godfather." Torcille replied quietly, "The Senate isn't taking the necessary steps to safeguard our future all because of prejudice and their want of reelection."

"Long story short, they want us to declare war on Lumaria instead of asking them for help." Tinto added. "The Chancellor just ne-"

"Your marines are going to work security tomorrow. They're the best in the whole damn navy and they follow their guts just like you. We're calling a vote to open up negotiations and sign a treaty with the Lumarian Republic; anyone who votes against it will be arrested and taken in for questioning while we get your task force ready."

"Task force?" Hannah asked, eyebrows perking a little.

"Your next assignment, you'll get the full briefing from me after we deal with the Senate and force a re-election." Torcille answered, "But be warned, this assignment is going to be one of the biggest undertakings you'll undergo... she was finished 10 hours ago."

"Golt...?" Nelson questioned.

"With the war starting, the ship masters and works of Forn have redoubled their efforts to do what they can for the navy... the RSSD _Mandalore_ is ready, Admiral Nelson."

* * *

"Orders just in, Colonel." an orderly announced, causing a certain Twi'lek Colonel to turn from his seat at the bar. Torpa looked at him, then his glass, then back to the young man behind him before finally getting up.

"Hand them over. Just for me?"

"No sir, for your entire brigade." the orderly replied. The phrase sobered the Major up quite a bit given they had only been on leave for a few hours... and looking at his orders, he started understanding why he needed the entire battalion.

"Get to a com unit and call up all marines stationed on the _Kindred Spirit_ rendezvous is the mustering area at Fort Canderous." Torpa ordered. Quickly he downed what was left of his drink and started towards the door, tossing a credit chip to the bouncer once he was on his speeder bike. He almost hit 3 civilian speeders and a garbage truck before he was on the highway heading towards Fort Canderous and with how fast he was going, he had to wait a full hour before the first of his men started showing up.

"Sir!" one of his sergeants piped up as troops continued to stream in, "Why the sudden recall?"

"Orders from the Chancellor!" Torpa shouted back, not turning to look at the LAAT/is that were landing behind him, "And they're a doozy."

* * *

New Keldabe Senate Chambers  
17 hours after 'Spirit' Brigade muster

Nelson didn't like it. He never liked it, and to be honest he'd rather have to fight a three front war instead of having to do something so... so...

"Imperial." Hannah finally said from her spot next to him. Either she was still reading his thoughts whenever he gave off those 'unbalanced' feelings she said he had a habit of creating, or she was finally able to read his expression with near perfect accuracy.

"Sad but necessary..." Nelson whispered back before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and gave a half smile at the officer standing in front of him. "Colonel Torpa... I take it your men are in position?"

"Ready and waiting sir... all we need to do is find out which bastards want us to lose the war and which ones my men don't touch." the Twi'lek officer replied grimly. "Do... are you sure we have to do this though?"

"As sure as I'll ever be, Colonel... as sure as I'll ever be." Ed said, looking back at the main podium where Torcille had finally taken the stand.

_"Now or never..."_ Nelson thought, getting a reassuring nod from Hannah before they entered the main chamber.

* * *

"As usual, this session of council is called to order, scribe make sure to get the date correctly." Torcille said before looking around for a moment, eyes only resting on Tinto for a few seconds before looking back at his podium. "Today, we have one order of business and one only... something most of you have been tabling for the past three days and I'm making an executive decision; we vote on the Lumarian Issue now."

Nelson, still standing on one of the few empty booths, was rather shocked at the uproar that followed what his former second-in-command had announced, though it quickly subsided after he recalled the trouble the Senate had given him when they found out about the _Mandalore_. Regardless, the din finally lowered to a mild murmur and Torcille began reading off the terms being voted on ranging from simply opening up a real diplomatic line to the military and economic alliance between the two governments.

It didn't take long for Torcille to wave Nelson in next to him.

"All opposed to the terms and conditions of this bill, please rise." the Chancellor ordered. With near unison, 470 of the 700 delegates there stood up. Torcille simply sighed before giving Nelson a resignated nod.

Nelson's helmet closed around his head as he snapped his fingers.

Torpa reached two fingers to his right ear.

4,000 marines breached every door and window of the main senate chamber, knocking out personal body guards and handcuffing any senator that was marked by the AI in Nelson's armor. Those that resisted were subdued and those that gave the 'Spirit Brigade' a hard time felt what a rifle butt was made of.

One senator had to be shot, he had pulled a pistol on the marines charging into his booth and despite taking a round to the leg, continued firing. The trio of blaster bolts that hit his chest silenced his gun for good.

Those that voted in favor of opening negotiations were all on the ground despite no hostility being shown towards them. It actually took the first to stand up a full minute to notice that the soldiers who had entered his booth were taking up defensive positions, keeping him and all the other senators that did the right thing safe from the ones who voted no.

It took 4 minutes in total before things quieted down and Torcille, now with a full platoon keeping him and Nelson guarded, spoke again.

"It's settled, unanimous vote for attempting a treaty with the Lumarian Republic. Re-election of senators begins tomorrow and we may now vote on a more important bill once our collection of ex-senators is finally gone. Admiral, General, Colonel, tend to your troops please, I'll handle it from here."

* * *

Hannah was finally able to relax after what was already being called the "Forced Elections" but only after a full week of shore leave and quite a few visits to the still under construction Knight's Academy. She was however, rather relieved to be back on the _Kindred Spirit_ given her newly repaired state. The fighters in the hangar looked good as new, the scars of the Battle of Vev couldn't even be seen, and the deck plating under her boots seemed more solid than it was when she punched Nelson in the gut two weeks ago before they left for Aurek.

That relaxed feeling was short-lived though. Her comm unit buzzed and aimed her towards the bridge, a sign that the assignment Torcille had told them about was about to get a full briefing. It only took her 5 minutes to get up to the bridge and once she got there, the main view screen sprang to life.

"Nelson, Carlson... this is big. Very big." Torcille said. "Joshua is uploading the specifics onto the holotable behind you but long story short, a week ago we got word that the new Lumarian home world has recently come under siege by combined Black Moon and Crandolian forces. A full scale planetary invasion is currently on the ground while their home fleet is trying to hold orbit... we're helping."

"Supplementing their military?" Hannah asked.

"Right you are, but not just supplementing, you're drawing the line and and pushing those bastards back... you'll be commanding...

* * *

"...500 ships including ground support, and an expeditionary ground force of 1 million sentients, 2 million droids, and 100 Knights. Our armor will number around 500,000 ranging from Canderous Assault tanks to the upgraded Clone Wars walkers and whatever the _Grey Ghost_ can provide." Nelson stated, looking up at his officers and Mendez, "Five generals will be answering to General Carlson while the rest of you help me keep the space clear. Ground control and your air tower will be the Keldabe _Shield and Sword_ hovering above their capital city with Crusaders keeping airspace clear."

The bridge of the _Kindred Spirit_ was somewhat packed thanks to the four Eclipse admirals, five generals, and one certain Admiral Mendez all being huddled around the holotable. The planet they were going to be heading for was up and glowing red in compromised areas while the information about it was floating next to it. Luckily for the Eclipse and the Lumarians, Xesh Site was their home world but not the center of their military might. Given their current situation though, their new home world was not only their biggest ship yard, but housed the largest mining facilities in the entire Lumarian Republic.

"Lumarian High Command needs their birds in the air and we're going to clear the way for them." Hannah added, "Acclamators will land on the outskirts of the capital and create a perimeter before we start unloading troops while separate brigades, battalions, and anything down to a commando team will be dropped off at other contested areas of the planet. The largest air field and military base are at the capital and we're making sure that they can be brought back up to full operation. Any generals left alive will join me aboard the _Shield and Sword_ while you five work on the ground with your respective armies." she finished, looking back at Nelson.

"Ladies and gentlemen... the Empire is going to keep sending in reinforcements until they view this battle as a lost cause. We are here to make sure that this is a lost cause and then get an alliance treaty signed the moment the victory drinks are being bought. Once we go in, we are the backup. We are the last line of defense. We do not retreat, we do not withdraw, and we sure as hell don't die..." he said as he put his hands behind his back. For a long moment he simply stared at the table before looking at each of the officers gathered around it.

"We are the cavalry; so get your saddles ready and put on your spurs. We ride in an hour. Dismissed."


	27. Chapter 26

Chris stood still as the technicians made modifications to his armor, mostly just shield amplifications and weapon enhancements, but he figured they would come in handy in the battle to come. However, he wasn't waiting in the repair bay of the _Grey Ghost_, he was on board the _Kindred Spirit_since he would be taking drop pod to the surface with the rest of the strike team that Chris had assembled. Given their role in the battle, they had transferred ships so that Mendez could stay in orbit.

Their armor support was aboard one of the 'Acclamators' or whatever the Eclipse navy personnel called them, and ready to take the fight to the Crandolian Empire... though the transition to real space was still an hour away.

"That should do it, sir. Extra blaster weaponry if you need it and anti-personnel rocket darts like what we have on droids." the tech said, breaking the super soldier out of his train of thought.

"Thanks." he replied, standing back up at full height and stretching a little. "Shields?"

"Upped the strength as much as I could without compromising your power source... should keep you safe from a Crando heavy tank blast, but only one, and I'm not sure that it will keep all of the plasma out."

"I promise not to go charging a heavy tank without support then." Chris deadpanned with a smirk.

"Optics are updated as well, though they didn't need much work."

"I'll give her a test run later... can you point me in the direction of a training area or gym?"

"That I can sir." Joshua interjected, "I'll light up the navigation lights in the hallway as you go, just take a left out of the repair bay and follow."

* * *

Nelson blocked another blow from Hannah, striking back with his second saber and twirling past her as the blow went over her head. She got up from her duck and quickly went back on the offensive, attempting to land blows but being blocked at every turn.

As the sparring match shifted balance, Nelson pressed his own attack, using his feet, knees, and elbows almost as much as his sabers to strike while using the swords to block more than anything and for once, she didn't have a complete advantage over him. With startling speed he managed to turn the tables, and with frightening speed Hannah managed to do the same.

Chris entered the gym quietly, noticing the two Supreme Commanders going at it, and decided to sit back and observe for the time being. One thing he had never seen before he was put in stasis was sword dueling. It was common in movies and other media when he was growing up and before he volunteered for the Centurion Project... but to actually see it. Swordsmen sparring, fighting... dueling like something out of his childhood dreams. They even had laser swords, though not the metal blades with plasma edges like he had expected.

Before long, Nelson managed to disarm and pin the woman he recognized from the Battle of Vev. Though they didn't get up right away, talking for a moment before Admiral Nelson's face got closer and General Carlson motioned in the direction of Chris.

Both got up rather quickly after that.

* * *

"I've never known an admiral to be proficient in fighting." Chris said, hitting the bag again. Nelson chuckled at that as he continued to practice his swings.

"It was very common in our old galaxy for people who hold a position of military authority to be able to hold their own against assailants... though I guess that's what happens when every leader is either a cyborg or some saber jockey." the Admiral replied.

"You'd be deadly in a fight against someone without a sword like that."

"You have no idea..." Nelson muttered, getting a slight eyebrow from Hannah. He quickly made a gesture, stretching all four of his artificial limbs before going back to practice to which she simply nodded in return.

"You're a cyborg too, if I recall." Chris stated.

"Not quite, but close... I lost my arms and legs during a campaign gone wrong on Xesh... we lost quite a bit there."

"My apologies, admir-"

"Captain."

"... my apologies, _Captain_." Chris replied with a grin.

* * *

"A little too close for comfort, if you ask me." Hannah teased as she walked back towards the hangar with Ed. His response was a slight grunt and a smirk before the turbolift door opened and they entered quietly.

"Please tell me you didn't let me win just to get pinned." he teased back once the door closed and the lift started up. "Because if you did I'll have to file a complaint about the teaching staff at the Academy of Knights."

"Very funny... but no, I didn't let you win... I'm actually surprised that you managed to best me this time. Vader, Palpatine, and Mara used to be the only ones who could do that."

"Mara?"

"Remember hearing rumors about the Emperor's Hand?"

"Thought those were just rumors until I saw you the first time after you were taken... then thought that you were the only one."

"There were lots of us, we only found out after Palpatine died, and she was the first, best, and most skilled."

"Good thing I never made it on Palpy's bad list, eh?"

"You were actually on the wanted list quite a bit, Ed..." she replied, getting an actual smile from Nelson as the door opened.

* * *

Troops loaded onto transports, rifles on their backs while the fighters were brought onto the launching bays. The forward hangar of the _Kindred Spirit_was semi-uniform with the other Aggressors throughout the fleet and placed where the Ion Megacannon used to be. Split into two levels, it used the sheer length available to add in a system used to help fighters and bombers get into the fray much more quickly.

Once secured onto one of the five guide rails, craft would be shot out like a projectile weapon while shuttles, gunboats, and transports were launched out of the bottom half of the hangar. Once it was cleared, fighters would return during or after battle for rearmament, repairs, and then take the service elevator up to the top level to launch again. Efficient, more firepower than the ion cannon, and an example emulated by a large portion of the fleet; Nelson was happy that the alteration to Zann's limited vision was such a success.

Knights helped with the ordinance loading, making sure that the gunships carrying heavy weapons troopers were properly equipped while 'Spirit Brigade' continued to make sure they were ready for the fight of their lives.

"Biggest fleet action in history... though not by much." Nelson muttered.

"Largest use of ground troops too." Hannah added, looking at him, "By much."

"Aye... that it is..." he replied, looking back at her, "And I expect you to be as careful with your life as possible. I'm not losing you."

Hannah, for the first time in her life, broke protocol by hugging her Commander-in-Chief in the middle of a hangar full of marines and Knights, many of which she had trained herself at the Academy. What surprised her was that Nelson actually hugged back without hesitation despite the lengths they had gone to previously to preserve secrecy.

"You won't... I promise." she whispered back softly, looking him square in the eyes with a smile.

"I'll hold you to it..." he said, looking at the crowd who mostly ignored them. "I'll leave you to get ready..."

"And I'll leave you to make sure we all get out of this in one piece."

* * *

Admiral Edward W. Nelson III walked onto the bridge of the _Kindred Spirit_in his armored uniform, a chest piece with his rank insignia and the insignia of the Eclipse over the left breast, shoulder guards, light gauntlets, armored boots that came up to the knee, and a belt that held the holsters for his personal blaster pistols.

He left the cape off, deeming it unnecessary at the moment.

"Five minutes and counting sir. All systems are green and the fleet is more than ready." Joshua announced.

"Estimated Lumarian fleet strength?"

"We're guessing around 200 ships left able to fight by the time we get there, but we're estimating absolute worse case scenario." the Ops officer answered.

"Comms, make sure we have a channel open the moment we get in-system, I don't want any friendly fire."

"Fighters are locked in and ready to launch. Lucky 7 is ready to, er, quote 'Kick some thorax'." Joshua said getting a chuckle from everyone on the bridge.

"Landing craft and transports ready to go as soon as we're in range." another officer added.

"All admirals are reporting in ready, _Mandalore_is at full capacity, and General Carlson's Knights are itching to make these bastards pay for Vev."

"Countdown timer on the screen please and warm up the holotable, I want the battlefield laid out the moment we're in system."

* * *

"Admiral! We have contacts inbound!" an officer shouted, despair very apparent in his voice before another explosion rocked the LRAS _Destiny_.

"IFF?" Admiral Dolrak asked, gripping the arms of his command chair.

"Not Crandolian or Black Moon, sir, they're-"

500 capital ships of varying size and a Super Star Destroyer entered the system out of range of the remains of the Lumarian home fleet, about 300 ships in total.

"... Eclipse..." the officer added breathlessly.

"Someone open a channel."

"Already being hailed sir."

"On screen." Dolrak ordered, scowling the moment that Nelson's face appeared on the screen. "What do you want, Captain?"

"For you to get out of the way and not shoot my troops. Stow whatever hate you have and make way, we're gonna push these bastards off of your planet or die trying." Nelson replied.

"Excuse me...?"

"I said, we're here to help. Now tag my ships as friendly and get ready for the counter attack of the century, I have 3 million troops ready to take back your planet."

For a moment, Dolrak sat silently, looking over the fleet numbers and holding his breathe before standing up slowly.

"Nelson... get your boys on the ground and have your AIs get my commanders a briefing on the plan to retake our world... and thank you."

"Not a problem, we can talk after we're not being shot at."

* * *

"All ships move up! Admiral Zel-Dai take your fleet and cover the _Mandalore_; everyone else, punch a hole in the bugger lines for the transports. Wipe the playing field!" Nelson barked before the com shut off and the entire fleet burst forward. 100 of the ships maneuvered to create a defensive perimeter a few kilometers off from the super star destroyer. From their position, plasma bolts, turbolaser fire, and an HBC blast all found their marks against the Crandolian and Black Moon fleet. Moments later, fighters launched from every hangar Nelson's fleet had to offer and started towards the enemy.

"All fighters move to intercept and keep enemy fighters off the big boys." Nelson said, looking over the holotable. "I want fire support for those orbital guns, seven to nine ships guarding each one; helm, move us forward and fire dorsal thrusters so we can get a firing arc underneath the fleet. Joshua, link up and get the _Sword and Shield_ ready. I want those assault ships on the ground within the hour."

* * *

Of the 937 Crandolian and Black Moon ships that had started the attack on the newly renamed New Fentok, 691 remained when the Eclipse started their attack. 187 were taken out of the fight right away as the fire came in while the rest did their best to fight enemies on two sides. A dozen or so fired their ventral thrusters to get above the line of fire but were quickly intercepted by fighters, bombers, and missiles that could change their trajectory.

Quickly and ruthlessly, the Eclipse force managed to force the enemy out of their assault position. _Mandalore_and her escort maneuvered into a defensive position near the orbital defenses in order to plug holes in the line while the rest of the fleet split into two. One smaller force went straight for the planet, a Keldabe and a few dozen Crusaders keeping guard over half a dozen Acclamators.

The design for the Acclamators, Venators, and just about every other Imperial vessel were in the stockpiled archives aboard the super capital _Eclipse_and were stolen by Tyber Zann's intelligence network during the Raid of the Kuat Drive Yards. Luckily for the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, Nelson had absconded with those blueprints and the designs for every Zann Consortium vessel on file before he and his followers fled.

Thus, there was only one real Acclamator in this task force; the renamed _Rifleman_ which they had gotten during the raid of Corulag that delivered 20 Venators into Nelson's fleet. The others were built from scratch and given the best armor plating possible for ships of their classes. While they didn't excel at ship to ship combat, the upgraded Acclamators were the perfect vessel for landing armies and had been assigned as the dedicated ground assault ship during large scale invasions. Their first test run was the Battle of New Fentok.

* * *

"We need fire on that artillery emplacement now damnit!" a sergeant barked. Guns had been pounding the city for days without letting up, from what he could guess they had actually taken ordinance from other fronts on the planet to support the siege of Layenot. At least it eased up the strain on the other cities, but it still made his job of keeping what was left of his squad from running total hell.

He had just about given up hope when he heard turbolaser fire, felt an impact, and then found that he could no longer hear the artillery firing. All around the city he heard the same thing over and over but it wasn't until a shadow fell over him that he finally looked up.

Hovering above the city was a Keldabe... and it wasn't glassing the city. All around it large wedge-shaped ships were descending, firing on the Crandolian front line and making it disappear while fighters bearing the iconic howling wolf of the Eclipse strafed the retreating force.

The sergeant thought he heard cheers coming from the city, but he couldn't quite tell over the roar of engines and the renewed small arms fire being thrown at the buggers.

* * *

General Boyef looked out from his command tower as six ships landed on the outskirts of the city, a smile creeping onto his face as the ramps on the sides facing the city all began to lower and offload men, droids, tanks, and mobile artillery. He thanked the gods for whatever their reasons were for sending in the reinforcements as troop transports and gunships came into view before the com unit next to him started buzzing.

"This is Boyef." he said, bringing the channel up on the screen.

"This is General Carlson of the Eclipse Republic, I have a dropship inbound to pick you and your staff up. You'll be joining me aboard the Keldabe hovering over your city to help retake your planet. I'll discuss more when you're up here; until then spread the word that the Eclipse is here to help as much as we can."

"I'm already moving my forces forward to link up with yours. How's the party upstairs?"

"Nelson is holding on and getting ready for enemy reinforcements. Rest assured, there will be no enemy reinforcements reaching your planet alive. Carlson out." Hannah replied before the feed cut. Seconds later the main door to Boyef's War Room opened up, Eclipse marines taking up defensive positions while he and what was left of his staff gathered what they could and sprinted out the door.

As the LAAT/i he had clambered onto climbed in altitude, General Boyef looked out of the side slits and felt a sense of relief for the first time since the invasion started. His view was obscured once the gunship landed in a hangar bay and he was greeted with the sight of more gunships like his loaded up with men preparing to launch. Nothing he wasn't used to seeing but the fact that they all matched what intelligence thought was the armor profile of shock troopers was somewhat surprising.

"This way please, General Carlson is waiting for you." one of the escort marines said. Boyef nodded politely before following the larger man through a series of hallways and into a large room with a holotable in the center of it. On the table was a representation of the planet with tactical grids laid over it and next to that was Layenot and her new defenders.

"General, nice of you to drop by. Shock troops have already flushed what's left of the bugs out of that big airfield you have next to the city and there's a Colonel Gionatu taking command there as we speak." Hannah said, motioning the old general over to the table. "We're trying to link up with the rest of your military network so we can coordinate Eclipse and Lumarian forces; with any luck we'll secure the planet within the month."

"You blew up our homeworld." one of Boyef's staff blurted out. "Why help now?"

For a moment, everyone in the room believed that General Carlson would Force choke the little upstart, but she calmly stood up to full height and put her hands behind her back.

"Major... we can level cities, kill fleets, and even turn the surface of a planet into scorching hot _glass_... but I assure you, we don't possess the ability to make a planet explode the way it did."

"If you didn't then wh-"

"Abyss. We don't know where he came from or why he decided to kill everything in sight but he did, and he took my arms in the process now stow it or I'll have you removed and detained to the brig." she growled. The major didn't say anything after that though Boyef raised an eyebrow.

"That still doesn't explain why you're helping us now."

"Our government has agreed to attempt to make a formal peace treaty and military alliance with yours. If the Crandos and Black Moon are working together, we need to do the same to survive..." she said, pulling up images of the Eclipse landing and footage of the Crando line falling back. "Case and point, General... we can discuss that later though, now we need to secure your world."

"Of course, ma'am." Boyef replied with a smile, working his way over to the table and getting in contact with what commanders he could.

* * *

The drop after the _Kindred Spirit_ managed to line up with the planet was bumpy at best, though Chris couldn't complain. He was safe on the ground with 20 of the best soldiers he had ever fought with that weren't fellow Centurion members. Each armed with Eclipse rifles after they found out that the energy output of theirs was superior to anything the _Ghost_had.

Small arms were never a big worry for the Alliance after the war with Abyss started.

The platoon moved forward as quietly as they could along a line of trees. Luckily for them, it was night where they were and it helped their cover. Though the cloaking enhancements in their armor was also a big help. The objective, a simple demo job of a marked ammo dump providing the supplies necessary for one of the main city sieges. Only catch was it was in the middle of a major encampment that was one of the first LZs for the Black Moon.

Chris stayed crouched as he moved forward, the gun on his right arm that was integrated into the armor taking form and he held the vibroblade that he had been issued before the drop. The rest of his men brought their rifles to bear as they moved up, invisible to the naked eye and most sensors.

They reached the temporary fortifications that had been set up and climbed over, silently dispatching any sentries with combat knifes before taking up breaching positions along the temp-barracks. Chris took a deep breath and put a countdown timer on the HUD of everyone in the platoon.

_"5 sentries down, an entire encampment to go."_he thought before focusing on the countdown again.

5...

Chris leveled his rifle on the first contact he saw.

4...

The rest of the platoon began to do the same.

3...

Targets locked.

2...

"Ready..."

1...

**"Engage."**


	28. Chapter 27

Lucky 7 broke formation as they engaged an enemy squadron of Crando fighters. Crandolian fighter craft were shaped like the letter 'W' with the main weapons on the two outer prongs and the cockpit behind the middle one. The center housed the main engine with auxiliaries behind the main guns.

Needless to say, they provided a wide target but not the biggest silhouette when facing head on but it wasn't anything Kaylin and her pilots weren't used to by now. Thanks to the excessive amounts of upgrades the Eclipse had given the ARC-170s that they used, maneuverability was a quantum leap ahead of the original Clone Wars model and allowed Lucky 7 to out turn their bugger counterparts.

Lucky 7 reformed, plowing through the newest debris field as they hurtled towards the _Kindred Spirit_ both due to a need to dock and the enemy fighters harassing it.

* * *

"Point defense is holding sir, shield integrity at near 99%." Joshua announced as puffs of smoke and tiny explosions kept lighting up the battlefield. The bigger ships had long since been destroyed or boarded and the only resistance left in space was fighter craft and the occasional corvette. Luckily for Nelson, his fleets were left alone while the Lumarian fleet concentrated on repairs and filling any gaps in their own lines.

The battle on the ground however, had barely begun. Yes, they did have troops on the ground and Hannah had things under control, but it would still be at least a month before they even made headway.

_"The situation down there was worse than we had thought..."_ Nelson thought before klaxons began to blare.

"Report!"

"Bugger reinforcements, sir. Enough to choke a Bantha." the radar operator stated.

"Lay out the carpet and dust the table, let's make them feel right at home."

* * *

Chris continued to run forward as his men laid down cover fire. They all acted like short range snipers, reaching random areas of the camp to let off a few bursts before activating their camo and moving again.

The super soldier leading them on the other hand, did not bother to try the far off approach and shot everything in sight as he continued advancing. If it got to close, then sliced in half. If it was medium range, he got a burst of three to five shots off into its chest or head. Very quickly, the men and women who were in fighting shape began concentrating their fire on the shimmer of air moving in the middle of the encampment and killing everything in sight.

Half of the base was asleep when the attack happened. A tenth of them were killed in their beds as the Eclipse strike team moved forward. The rest were fighting for their lives as 21 ghosts ran through and struck without warning.

* * *

A Black Moon sergeant kept trying to get his men to rally despite the losses they had already taken. Battalion XO was killed, most of his staff was gone, and no one knew who was in charge. All anyone knew was that certain platoons were still intact and that his wasn't one of them.

_"Hell I'm trying to rally five me-"_ he thought before a blaster bolt caught him in the side of the head. His mind ran blank as things grew dark and the last thing he saw was an armored boot landing in front of him and a cloaking device deactivating.

* * *

The remaining men in the camp all turned and looked as the ten feet of armor and weapons appeared out of the air in front of them. Most were too shocked to even fire as they saw what had been tearing them all apart for the past 10 minutes and had pushed them into the northern have of the camp.

"Sergeant, are the charges placed?" Chris asked over the com.

"Ready and waiting for your command to detonate. Uploading the big red button of blow shit up to your HUD." a scratchy voice replied. Chris had almost forgotten about Sergeant Hunkol's smoking habit.

As rifles began to rise and level on him, Chris activated the button and the entire ammo dump behind him detonated in a huge plume of fire that outlined the 20 soldiers on his left and right. With his visor depolarized, any of the Black Moon soldiers that didn't duck saw him bearing a near feral grin before the entire strike team pounced. Blasters discharged, grenades detonated, vibroblades sliced through flesh, and Black Moon soldiers fled. Those that ran were shot in the back, including a Crandolian squad that was among them.

"Sir." Hunkol said, kicking one of the corpses over. "These Crandolians have different armor from what the Eclipse databases have shown."

"Clarify." Chris replied, walking over. When he did, Hunkol activated his helmet flashlight to illuminate the body.

"Crimson red armor with a yellow eye on it? Never seen anything like it and neither have the Eclipse boys."

"That's not a normal eye... not a bugger one either." Chris added, noting the slit of a pupil. "Get pictures of these bastards and send them to the _Shield and Sword_. See if Lumarian Intel has more on these guys. Alright everyone, LZ is a mile east and our next target is an airfield. We'll be disabling aircraft and capturing a fuel depot. Move out!"

* * *

Torcille paced his office quietly, looking out the window at random for a moment before resuming his movements. The war was going well at the moment on the foreign front but at home, things were still recovering from the re-election and despite his protests, everyone in the council was begging him to postpone his resignation until what the press was calling The Crandolian War was over or under control.

In all honesty, he'd rather be out of office and back on the bridge of his ship. But alas, his ship was no more. It had been melted down and turned into the keel of the RSSD _Republic_ secretly under construction in an asteroid belt a few million kilometers to the 'east' of Aurek.

_"I'll have her when I get to resign... hopefully."_ he thought before the door to his office opened. A lieutenant whose name he could never remember came in and quietly dropped off a datapad before heading right back out the door. Torcille waited for him to be gone before going over and picking it up.

The report was the average war talk, fronts were holding, mothballed designs were being used again, and...

_"Lucrehulk... I didn't know we had those out on the front yet... my my, Nelson; what else have you been hiding from the Senate."_

* * *

Vulture Droids streamed past the Venator _Constitution_ to intercept their targets, a Crandolian escort carrier currently trying to hold off the barrage of turbolaser fire from the _Constitution_ while launching what fighters she could. Those that launched were quickly blasted out of the vacuum by the droids before the escort carrier lost her shields and was quickly turned to slag.

Quickly, the droids peeled off towards their host ship while manned craft filled the gap in the Crandolian line. Behind them, the Lucrehulk BattleCarrier _Pride of Besh_ moved forward, guns blazing and more fighters launching. These CIS ships, along with other designs that the Empire had horded for the sake of preventing another Confederacy from cropping up, had been on file courtesy of Zann's Geonosian contacts. The only practical ones to build though, had been the Lucrehulks. Providence battleships were outclassed by Venators and Keldables, which they could build easier, and all the other frigates and cruisers cost more to build and upgrade than their Eclipse counterparts. The droid armies though, were still very effective in space and on the ground as seen by the battle below.

Prejudices aside, when kept in control, these droid armies saved lives and were effective in the right situations, but the Eclipse would never have them be the sole invasion or defense force except for extreme circumstances.

The squadron that had helped the _Constitution_ moved off from the _Pride of Besh_ and started towards the planet, flying down through the atmosphere and eventually coming across the target they were tasked with hitting. Deadly accuracy combined with speed that would make a sentient pilot black out coupled together to create a crater where a fixed artillery emplacement had been before they strafed it and started towards the capital.

* * *

General Carlson looked over the holotable quietly, occasionally pushing a command button and sending out movement orders and assignments to specific units or marking priority targets that the scouts had reported in. She also smiled when she saw an artillery icon disappear off the planetary grid right after an ammo dump vanished. An alert popped up on a screen behind her though and the officer looking it over quickly looked it over.

"Ma'am, I think you and General Boyef need to see this." the woman said, waving them over and bringing the report from Chris-Z9571 up on full. Hannah's eyes widened when she saw the insignia on the crimson armor.

"General, do you know more about those troopers?" she asked in a whisper.

"They're shock troops. Religious fanatics that spout off threats and are damn hard to kill. Our boys have been running into them all over the place and they keep hearing stuff like 'For the Highest God!' or 'The Abyss will claim yo...' oh my... you don't think they mean the Abyss that _you_ encountered, do you General Carlson?" Boyef replied.

"That eye... his eyes are yellow and reptilian, just like that insignia. And if they're spouting off threats, then they're working for or with that monster." Hannah said quietly, "And if they are, then we both need this alliance to stick more than you know... lieutenant, inform Admiral Nelson of this... discovery."

"Admiral Nelson?" Boyef asked, "I thought your naval commander was Captain Nelson."

"Same man." she replied, actually cracking a smile, "He just thinks that Captain sounds better."

"Vanity thy name is-"

"Edward. But no one in this room heard that, clear?" Hannah asked. The response from the Eclipse officers was loud and immediate and made the Lumarians among them chuckle before they got back to work.

"Heard what, ma'am!?"

* * *

Jacobs let out a sigh of relief when the news landed on his desk. The Crandolian offensive on his front was slackening while they tried to take out Nelson at New Fentok. His ships would finally get full repairs while the pressure was being taken off and what ships he could spare were being sent to other borders. The seemingly endless bugger fleet seemed to have finally reached its limit, at least on this side of the galaxy.

"Maybe now we'll get an offensive deployment, eh sir?" the weapons officer stated as he took his seat again. He had just gotten done with his breakfast and always had a habit of being the first to report to his post during the officer post transition.

"We can only hope. I'd love a chance to storm their home world and pay them back for the past three months." Jacobs replied. "Maybe even get them to back off for good."

"Only thing that could cause that would be total military annihilation, Captain." Horizon quipped, "Though last time I checked, you're all for that as well."

"I wouldn't mind wiping them out, no... but I don't think the Senate would agree."

"Give this war another year or two and I'm willing to bet they would." Horizon replied, getting a small grunt from the old Mandalorian officer.

* * *

Another hit on the shields rocked the _Kindred Spirit_ though everyone inside was able to stay on their feet. Kaylin grabbed onto the wing of her bird as more missiles were loaded into the internal compartments and Heroz, who had elected to stay in his chair, simply leaned his head back. The other pilots of Lucky 7 hated being in the middle of resupply when a battle was raging but it was necessary if they wanted to survive what was going to be at least a month of fighting in orbit. For now, they'd endure and suck it, but they knew Kaylin didn't want this kind of thing to happen again.

She clambered back into her chair, linking things up and bringing up the readiness roster. Mostly green across the board minus her bird and Lucky-scratch that, all ready to go.

"Alright boys and girls, time to kick some aft again. Link up AIs and get your targets; launch in 10."

* * *

"Flight Officer Kaylin is back into the fight sir, a flight of Skiprays is tailing to get a clear path to that heavy destroyer directly ahead of us as well so that little issue should be taken care of soon." Joshua announced.

"How's the line?"

"Holding on all fronts, no breaks yet." Ops announced.

"And the boys downstairs?"

"Running into trouble left and right but that was to be expected... however, General Carlson's troops have run across something that... may trouble you a great deal. Crandolian Shock Troops that we haven't encountered before are on the planet and most likely inside the bigger ships... they're wearing crimson armor with the insignia of... well, it would be better seen than explained." the AI replied and at Nelson's curt not, brought up on the main screen of the red armor with the yellow eye insignia of the Crandolian Shock Trooper Elite.

Supreme Commander of the Fleet, Admiral Edward W. Nelson III froze on the spot, and for the first time in two years, felt absolute terror strike his body.


	29. Chapter 28

"Admiral?" Joshua asked, noting the spike in heart rate.

"I'm fine; move the line forward by a kilometer and make sure _nothing_ gets through to the surface." Nelson replied, composing himself quickly and taking a few steps towards the main screen. "Retask blue squadron to ground support as well."

* * *

"Ma'am, more air support has been sent down to help." an officer announced, across the room, another one piped up something about the Lumarian air support finally getting their wings off the ground. All of the information continued to stream in, AIs working together with the men and women aboard the _Shield and Sword_ to make sure that all combat information being fed to the generals leading the operation was as up to date as possible.

"Fronts are moving forward..." she muttered to herself before noticing a blinking beacon in the western hemisphere. "Someone tell me what that alert is."

"A commando team ran into trouble, mission was only half done and they're having to pull out." one of the AIs reported, "Auto-Task has got them meeting up with a fuel depot raid that Grey Squad is capturing."

"Mark that supply base for air strike and move the eastern lines forward."

"Aye, ma'am. All forces finally have their boots on the ground including Spirit Brigade, they're awaiting tasking in the secondary LZ."

"Get them onto the western side of the city. How's their armor support?"

"Fully mobilized and moving with them."

"Western flank as well and make sure all officers know that they're expected to push forward and give the city some breathing room whenever practical."

* * *

Colonel Torpa and the rest of his brigade finally made it to the front line a mile west of the Acclamator _Mortar Pit_ courtesy of their Canderous tanks doubling as troop transports, though it wasn't a practical way to get around while moving in enemy territory. Canderous Units were fast because they hovered and had the optional dual set of treads tucked neatly underneath like landing gear that air units used. Dual Mass Driver guns on either side of the turret could track up to engage aircraft as well and bypassed shielding the same way the much larger versions of the guns did during space combat. Each one also had two automated anti-personnel laser turrets mounted on top to make sure that when moving alone, enemy infantry couldn't get close enough to plant a charge.

Each tank that was attached to Spirit Brigade however was slightly more advanced than their pure factory counterparts as the entire force was meant to be much like the 501st Legion was for the empire, they even emulated the dark blue colors that the clone legion had used during the Clone Wars when painting their armor and vehicles both in honor of what was once the elite military force for good, and to set the entire brigade apart.

"Everyone off! Move up standard line and take positions before the push!" Torpa bellowed as his boots hit the dirt. His rifle was up before he had even jumped off the left hover-tread and his men followed his example. Mobile rapid-fire laser turrets were set up insanely fast while individual soldiers laid down cover fire, catching any Crandolians that were in the open and dropping them with a burst or two of blaster rifle fire.

"Captain!" Colonel Torpa barked, "Inform command that the line is stabilized and we're moving forward as ordered towards that town. I want the tanks moving up as short range artillery while the infantry advances."

"Tank commanders are alread-" his XO began to say before the Canderous tanks opened up, lobbing shells and random anti-infantry fire towards the Crandolian line. The return fire was just as heavy, making everyone duck for cover as plasma mortars impacted all around them on dirt, permacrete, and shielding.

"Already opening up, sir. We'll be ready to move forward as soon as air support softens them up."

"Screw that, Iyos! The line has been static for too long already, we need to move so their artillery doesn't get a bead on the line!" Torpa shouted over the roar of explosions. "We move forward and _then_ we ask for air cover!"

* * *

Detonations ran up the a short segment of the _Mandalore_'s shielding, causing a lovely light show to those who could see it from other ships. One shield-bypassing missile actually managed to get past the point defense laser system and impacted harmlessly on the heavy armor of the hull. Unlike the Imperial SSDs that they were based off of, the 'city' portion on top of them were condensed and covered with layers of battle plates, segments of the ship that were nearly impenetrable and bristling with anti-fighter guns, turbolasers, proton torpedo tubes, and missile banks.

The ship that fired the missiles and plasma fire got a short reply from the massive ship, turning it into a field of glowing space debris.

"Line is holding steady sir, one break was patched up by Lumarian forces, Admiral." Ops stated as the _Kindred Spirit_ flew through the new debris field and past the _Mandalore_.

"Casualties minimal as well; formations are maneuvering into defensive positions and the remaining bugger ships are retreating out of range."

"Kindly ask Mendez to pick them off from his position in the line while we hold. If they want to run, let them." Nelson ordered, looking over the holotable for a moment. "Prep my shuttle for launch as well. Crando backup is days away and I'm going to give a personal checkup on the _Shield and Sword_ while I still have a chance to work our PR angle."

"There's a LAAT/i 2 minutes from launch in Hangar C." Joshua replied, getting a small grin from Nelson.

"Scratch the shuttle and have that gunship waiting for me. Cargo?"

"The platoon that replaced your old personal one waiting for Phase 2 Deployment." Joshua said, this time via the private com piece in Nelson's ear. The Admiral flinched slightly when he was told, old memories of Abyss being brought up once again, but kept face, running towards the lift that would take him to the proper hangar. Within minutes, he was on his way planet-side and his ship was safely in the shadow of the RSSD _Mandalore_.

* * *

Spirit brigade moved forward foot by foot, picking off anything willing to fire back with merciless efficiency. Casualties were ignored and pulled to the rear for medical care or set aside to be buried while tanks continued to scorch the ground ahead of the advancing line. Twice in the past 30 minutes of slow advancing, the Crandolian line had counter-charged and gotten close enough that hand-to-hand combat broke out, and twice the Eclipse had been stalled while they pushed them back into their trenches.

Torpa quietly noted with a smile that the mortars and artillery were no longer being nearly as effective as they were earlier, they were having to move back just to get within the minimum elevation in order to fire on his men. He had acted on intuition but that had paid off, his brigade was hitting a weaker section of the Crandolian line that was only being kept together by zealots in crimson armor. Tough bastards to take down but mortals nonetheless.

"Colonel!" someone shouted, pointing towards the sky at some dots that were slowly getting larger and closer.

_"There aren't supposed to be any air units in thi-shit."_ he thought before waving the advance back a little. "Hit the dirt! Enemy air inbound!"

The reaction was quick and efficient, those that could hid behind the tanks as the Canderous units started aiming at the sky while everyone else got as close to the ground as they could. Torpa heard screams as plasma impacted the ground and sent soldiers flying before a shot hit near him and introduced his faceplate with a nearby tank tread. Three fighters were shot down before they finished the strafing run and crashed on top of the bugger lines, another 5 managed to make it through before anti-air chased them off.

Torpa slowly got to his feet, holding his head and wincing as he felt multiple cuts on his lekku. Shaking his head clear he looked for a rifle before finally being aware that his men had began moving forward while he was recovering, he also felt a set of hands help steady him before he pushed them off and simply pointed forward.

_"Thank god for sonic earphones..."_ the twi'lek colonel thought, very glad that he wasn't deaf from the detonation. "Report!" he coughed.

"More casualties than I'd like to say out loud, sir." Iyos stated, "Still moving forward and the tanks are still fine."

"Double time it and get a Crusader overhead. I don't want **that** to happen ever again."

* * *

Nelson stood silently at the front of the troop bay of the LAAT/i as it finally re-entered the atmosphere a few miles northwest of the _Shield and Sword_. With him were 20 of the finest soldiers the Eclipse had to offer, all had fought during the last two years during reclamation battles though they had yet to fight with Nelson as their predecessors had and he was not very inclined to get to know them despite their station.

"Heads up everyone, things are gonna get bumpy!" the pilot announced, "Crando Air is somehow active in this sector, I'm gonna try and move us around their activity!"

"Get it done, pilot." Nelson replied dryly. The rest of the passengers looked up for a moment before going back to whatever thoughts they were entertaining. Most hadn't seen combat of this scale before, being stuck on he _Kindred Spirit_ during both the battles of Forn and Vev the previous month and none of them had been on the front line during the First Reclamation War.

Though in all honesty, this was new even for Nelson. This operation dwarfed the Vev campaign and Tyber Zann never had him attempt a takeover.

The gunship lurched violently as one of its engines detonated. Three Crando fighters pulled up from the LAAT/i as it began falling and disappeared into the cloud cover. The pilot did the best he could to control his falling bird and those inside held on for dear life.

"Barely any control!" the pilot shouted, "Trying to put her down without killing us all!"

"Just get us on the ground!" someone shouted back, Nelson couldn't tell who and didn't quite care. Things only got worse when the port side door ripped open, causing the ammunition boxes they were carrying to fly out and get strewn across the battlefield below them. Within seconds, Nelson saw buildings and just a few seconds after that, his transport hit the ground and slid into a building.

* * *

General Carlson gasped suddenly in the War Room, causing many to look up from their stations at her. She ignored them before punching commands into the main holotable.

"Someone light up this area of the map and tell me if we've lost anything in the air." she ordered.

"One gunship ma'am." an AI replied quickly, "Went down in a nearby town 3 miles west of the city.

"Cargo?"

"Just ammunition and a Phase 2 Strike Team; beacon is alre- oh my..."

"Oh my?" Hannah asked, getting increasingly impatient.

"Admiral Nelson was on his way here to work some PR with the Lumarian officers... he was on that gunship."

* * *

Colonel Torpa scowled as he saw the familiar sight of a LAAT/i on fire go crashing into the town ahead, whoever was on that was not going to have a good time and he prayed that the city wasn't as overrun as intel said it was. Silently, he continued forward with a slight limp as the line moved steadily forward.

* * *

"Where... the _hell_... was our escort!?" someone barked before getting the 'stow it' motion from Nelson.

"You're a covert transport with cargo and I wasn't supposed to even be on it, we don't escort stuff like that so that it doesn't draw attention." Nelson replied with a scowl, double checking himself and his sidearms. Most of the men nodded after the explanation while the others started salvaging what they could.

"Orders?" one of them asked, a corporal with the name 'Jones' stenciled onto his armor.

"Salvage what you can and then we start moving. We'll find a different building that's more intact and has a better defensive position. After that we see about contacting General Carlson and letting her know where we are. How's the pilot and beacon?"

"Beacon's already transmitting, pilot is out like a light and bleeding something fierce."

"Shut it off and plug whatever holes the pilot has. We're taking both with us." he ordered before a trio of plasma bursts impacted a piece of the wing near Jones. Everyone ducked down while five of the men moved up and returned fire. Nelson crouched and joined them, letting loose with his pistols. The firefight was short but hectic and left one man with a plasma burn on his shoulder plate, but it was enough to convince Nelson that their limited time in that building was coming to a close.

"Move people, move!" he barked, "Head east and find someplace with plenty of furniture for barricades. We are _not_ dying in this city."

* * *

Corporal Jones moved forward, rifle up and at the ready while the rest of the platoon fell in next to him. First assignment since the war started where he actually got to do something and here he was, shot down while taking Supreme Commander of the Fleet to a meeting.

_"Yeah, this will all look good on the records."_ he thought, scowling a little before the platoon stacked up on a wall. One by one they sprinted across the street, Nelson sprinting across in the middle of the pack with the pilot on his back, until they managed to find the safety of a darkened alleyway. The sergeant in front motioned for everyone to get down as a patrol went by.

Even Nelson tensed up as rifles shot up, only relaxing when the squad of Crandos moved on.

"Everyone into this next building, it looks like a restaurant and I don't want to get too close to the enemy front line." the Admiral ordered. He was given a series of nods in reply before the door was kicked in and everyone moved inside.

"Stack tables against windows, get an aid station set up on the third floor, I want two of you up on the fourth keeping watch. Everyone else, make this our new home." the sergeant ordered quietly. Nelson simply sat down on the floor in the kitchen, leaning his head back and closing his eyes to rest for the first time since the battle had started.

He woke up to the sound of blaster fire and a grenade going off in the next room.


	30. Chapter 29

Nelson sprang to his feet, pistol and unactivated saber hilt in his hands before he dropped to a crouch. Blaster fire was still audible through the thin floor and he noticed that the only one left on this floor with him was the injured pilot hooked up to a bacta IV and resting on a makeshift stretcher.

He winced when he heard another grenade blast but gave silent thanks when it became obvious that the blast came from outside.

"Sergeant, report."

"Buggers found us and you've been out for an hour." came a quick reply, "We're holding steady but they don't seem to enjoy us being in the middle of their line."

"Any news on the main army?" Nelson asked, bolting down the stairs and joining the fray. Crandolian soldiers were pelting the building with plasma fire and the occasional small explosive devices that the Eclipse couldn't technically classify as grenades due to the small yield.

"At least another hour away. They got right u-sithspit!" the sergeant replied, ducking as a plasma round went flying past, "... they got up close enough to fire on the town before the buggers put in a few dozen reserve units and pushed them back."

"Something tells me that we're in the middle of the heaviest fighting on the planet, sergeant."

"For once, sir, I wish you weren't right."

* * *

"We've been able to track the team that was with the Admiral but they're still stuck behind enemy lines. The line almost made it within rescue distance but the enemy mustered reserves from a cloaked base somewhere within two miles of the town."

"That town have a name?" Hannah asked.

"Official ID is NF-19." an AI replied.

"That's Cyanojek." Boyef retorted, giving the tactical AI's avatar a glare. "Medium sized by our standards and one of the main trading hubs outside of our capital city."

"So it's well supplied?"

"We were under siege for more than a week before you showed up. A lot can change in that time; we had to abandon it three days ago so I'm sure the Black Moon has already stripped it."

"I'll take that as a big no." Hannah sighed, her head hanging for a moment. She was quick to look back up at the planetary overlay, a small frown on her face.

"We need the western flank to stabilize before we try anything. For now... we leave Ed there and wait for Colonel Torpa and General Erianus to get their side of this mess fixed. Make sure they're alerted of the situation though, I'd like them to move with all possible haste."

* * *

"Who the hell authorized a withdraw!?" Abyss shouted. When he did, the War Room he was standing in shuddered just as much as the assembled generals and admirals around him. None spoke for what felt like hours to them before Abyss sent the door flying across the room.

"No... no one, my lord... no one authorized a withdrawal from any sectors..." an admiral finally pipped up.

"Then why. Do I see nothing. But _green arrows_. Pointing. Towards our. **borders!?"**

"The Eclipse response was more than we had anticipated. They not only kept us from assaulting their home world but... they've sent a massive task force to help relieve the Lumarians... Lumarian ships are already being transferred to other fronts and our Black Moon allie-"

"Pawns, General. Pawns."

"... pawns... are pulling back in some sectors. Minor governments are even sending envoys to Eclipse Republic space... intelligence got everything wrong."

"Who is the ranking intelligence officer in this room?" Abyss asked with a surprisingly calm tone. So calm that it was more scary to the officers there than his rage.

The poor soul who raised his hand exploded before his arm fully extended, getting exoskeleton and green blood on most of those in the room.

"I want a situation report on New Fentok." Abyss ordered.

"A few hundred ships, our ground forces are cut off, and almost one hundred of our ships escaped to regroup... the assault is being headed by Eclipse Admiral Nelson." someone reported, making Abyss perk up suddenly.

"Is _The Void_ ready?"

"Yes, my lord."

"You all have 30 minutes to get me on it, and after that you have an hour to get it heading towards New Fentok. We're breaking the back of the rescue effort. We're taking that planet. And we're killing our dear friend Nelson."

* * *

The shootout finally stopped after a good thirty minutes of constant back and forth firing when the Crandolians started to back off. Precision fire coupled with the sharpshooters on the fourth floor and the ever present Eclipse main army made the effort of pushing the platoon of marines worth more lives than was practical.

"Someone use your stealth plating and get some of the rifles the dead buggers dropped, I don't want to use all of our ammo too soon." Nelson ordered as he holstered his pistols. Strangely, it felt nice being on the ground despite what was going on. The situation in space was well under control when he left the _Spirit_ and the chance rescue before Crando reinforcements arrived was fairly high.

_"Just need a certain General to have gotten stranded with us and things would be perfect."_ he thought with a smirk. _"Maybe even make this a new vacation spot after the war..."_

"We got more of them then we thought, sir." a corporal said. Nelson turned to face him, noting the name Jones again.

* * *

"40 rifles and a few dozen more sidearms... maybe 10 of those small grenade like things." Jones said. Nelson looked the corporal over once more before giving an affirmative nod.

"Make sure the boys on the fourth floor have at least ten of the rifles; rest go in a neat setup in the middle of the first so that we can all access them."

"Aye sir." he replied, picking up ten of the rifles from and starting up towards the fourth floor.

"Nice of you to show up, Jones." one of the sharpshooters, another corporal by the name of Agon, quipped. "We missed you during that last firefight."

"Yeah, hit anything at all down there?" the other one, a sergeant, added.

"More than you smartasses did." Jones quipped right back. Jones and Agon had been through boot together in the Republic Marines before the Eclipse had started it's own official government. One year after, they had been slotted to join the _Kindred Spirit_ and had since distinguished themselves during skirmishes before the war started.

Then they had gotten on a gunship for a Phase 2 deployment and gotten shot down. Not their best moment as friends.

"Got presents for you though; hope you don't mind bugger guns."

"I'd rather use a Geonosian beam rifle..." Agon mumbled.

"The ones that use your blood as ammo?"

"Better than this piece of scrap."

"Then consider this little present an order from Captain Nelson." Jones replied.

"Poodoo." was all Agon could muster out before he got a rifle shoved into his lap.

* * *

"I don't care if you have to light everyone's ass on fire, General. We need this line to _move_." Torpa said.

"Well I'm sorry, Colonel, but my troops are not as fearless as yours. The line is barely holding steady as it is with those reinforcements they managed to bring up."

"We're within rifle distance of the town and the Supreme Commander of the Fleets is in there. Both lines are unstable right now."

"The buggers keep pushing on our line, there's not much we can do at the moment." Erianus growled.

"Shock troops are giving the line that much trouble, eh?" Torpa asked, crossing his arms and scowling.

"Of course they are. Normal infantry was hard enough to take down but now we have these fanatics mixed into this mess..." the general replied with a sigh. "Intelligence didn't catch the cloaking and it bit us all in the ass. Even with your brigade we're still the flank having the most trouble."

"We could always ask for Blue Squadron. They were dedicated to the ground war after orbit was secured."

"We don't want to risk too much collateral damage with a strafing run."

"With all due respect, General; screw collateral damage. We didn't exactly get through the first few months of the Reclamation War by playing nice."

"Then what is your suggestion, Torpa?"

The twi'lek colonel smirked when the question met his ears. Slowly and deliberately, he walked over to the holotable that had been set up in the mobile HQ. The projection of the line started to move, a staggered line pushing forward in random intervals.

"They're pushing on our line... so we push right back."

* * *

"Progress on the beacon?" Nelson asked. The tech specialist of the platoon looked up for the first time since the firefight had ended and shrugged before looking back down.

"They locked onto this building pretty quickly with jammers. It's why we can't talk to the outside... I don't even know if I can amplify this thing to break through the jamming field..."

"Let me know when you have someone on the horn; I need to link up with someone in command of the ground war... General Carlson best case scenario if possible."

"I'll get it done sir... or at least I hope I can."

"Just let me know when you do." Nelson replied, standing and moving on his way. "Anyone got a bead on enemy troops?"

"Nothing from the top, they seem to be steering clear of us now that they know we can still bite them." someone replied over the com. He couldn't tell who and at this point, the information was all he really cared about.

"And west flank?"

"No movement, just a lot of firing from foxholes."

"Well that's just-"

"Got it! We have a line to the _Shield and Sword_!" the tech officer shouted, causing Nelson to turn and actually crack a smile.

"Perfect."

* * *

"Ma'am, we have a... sketchy signal coming in from NF-19... it's Admiral Nelson." the com officer stated.

"Transfer to my private com. Now." she snapped as her helmet folded in around her head. "Ed?" she asked tentatively.

"-nnah? Come in they'- ammers."

"Ed, it's me. Are you ok in there?"

"Fi- just f- clear thi- ya?" came a garbled reply. Hannah made a subtle motion to the com station, hoping that they could clear it up.

"Hannah, do you read? Come in." a cleaner reply came in a few seconds later.

"I'm here, Ed. I'm here... please tell me you're alright."

"Everything's fine, we're holed up and have repelled a major attack. No wounded save the pilot who was driving me to meet your new pals."

"Good, good... why the _bloody hell_ were you taking an unmarked gunship to meet us!?" came a sharp shout that was loud enough for those in the room to hear her despite her helmet being on.

"Getting down ASAP on something faster and sturdier than a diplomatic shuttle!" Nelson barked back. "If I was on that I'd be stranded by myself out here instead of with a full platoon!"

"God _damnit_ Ed..." Hannah sighed, hand meeting her helmet where the bridge of her nose was. "I... just stay safe, please... there are too many reasons on why we can't lose you and I'd rather not list them over an open channel."

"Then list them when I'm in a private medical suite after this is all over."

"Ed..." she started to say before closing her eyes, "You know..."

"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, General Carlson..."

* * *

"K'oyacyi, Admiral Nel-" Ed heard before static filled his ear.

"Damnit..." he grumbled before looking back at the technician. "Thanks for getting me through... try and get us a more secure line if you can."

"Aye Admiral... um... if it's not too much to ask... are you and General Carls-"

"Don't even start, Private."

"I speak Mando'a, sir." the young soldier stated, making his superior freeze on the spot.

"You know nothing. Private." Nelson replied, turning to face him, "Am I perfectly, and absolutely. Clear?"

"Of course sir... it's just... I'm not the only one here who knows the language... most of us do."

_"Sonovabitch."_ Nelson thought, mentally kicking himself for letting that one out.

"Alright boys, gather round, might as well debrief you."

* * *

"You alright, Erianus?" Torpa asked, noticing his superior flinching slightly.

"Fine... just... a disturbance... something big is heading towards us."

"Us as in the line or us as in New Fentok?"

"New Fentok. I think the buggers finally sent off a fleet to bring in reinforcements..."

"Think any of your other Knight buddies felt it?" Torpa asked, looking back out at the line.

"I know they did."

* * *

"General Carlson? General, are you alright?" Boyef asked. She had nearly doubled over, holding her head shortly after her helmet had folded back into the rest of her armor.

"No... no I'm not... and neither are we."

* * *

"Engines at optimal levels, my lord. We should be there within the next two days."

"Good..." Abyss replied, taking a seat on the captain's chair, though it looked more like a throne than anything else. "Up the power to the engines and make sure the drone ships are ready for launch before we exit hyperspace."

"As you wish." the young lieutenant replied with a deep bow. He was out the door and heading towards the ops center before Abyss could even stand up and walk to the front of the bridge.

"Not my ultimate creation, but a start..." he mused aloud with a grin. "Though I'm all for testing out new toys on my audience."

"New toys, Abyss?" a voice came from over the com. He smirked when he recognized the soft tone.

"Is the palace already that boring without me, Ilea?"

"Not quite, just got a chance to test out the new communications on that tin can of yours."

"Ah yes, the direct line to the throne room and master bedchambers... almost forgot that I wanted those put in."

"Not much use for them when you're leading the charge personally."

"We finally have a chance to kill Nelson... I'd rather get it over with quickly before things escalate."

"He's a non-powered cyborg, even his star general couldn't compete with you, why would you worry?"

"My reasons are my own, Ilea. I suggest you drop the subject." Abyss growled.

"... of course, my lord... Ilea out." she replied quietly, leaving Abyss in silence with his mood slightly darkened.

"My reasons are my own..." he grumbled, taking a seat once more and staring out at the vast red expanse of hyperspace.


	31. Chapter 30

"I'm trusting you all to keep your mouths shut." Nelson said, a hint of a growl creeping into his tone.

"Lips zipped tight sir." someone replied from behind where the Admiral was sitting.

"If word gets out... well, tabloids will have a hay day on top of General Carlson killing me." he replied with a small smirk which caused everyone, even those keeping watch on that floor, to chuckle.

"Is it true that she took your arm?" Jones asked. Nelson immediately turned to face the corporal, eyes slightly wide.

"Where the hell did you hear that?"

"Rumors and speculation, sir. She's crazy with a saber and the Force powers and she ain't a jedi... so the only other option back in the old Galaxy was working for Palpy while you were working for Zann."

"She took my arm the first time... conflict of interest during a raid. You all know the story of the second time I lost it."

"Most of us would rather not think about _him_. If you couldn't beat him... most of us are sure that no one can."

"It's a shared fear, boys... it's a shared fear."

* * *

"Seems odd that he'd be caught off of his ship, but I guess things are different for these Eclipse types." Sergeant Hunkol mused aloud.

"Probably trying to shake hands while the fleet isn't in obvious danger." Chris replied without looking back. "Though I wouldn't be too critical, they're providing us all this lovely transportation."

"Never thought you were one for flying, sir."

"Flying I can handle, it's getting shot down or thrown out of the air that I have a problem with."

"You and every other sane sentient." the pilot of their LAAT/i quipped back.

"Oh come on, drop pods aren't _that_ bad." another of the platoon retorted. She was one of the few dedicated drop troopers left on the _Grey Ghost_ when they went into stasis. Part of Chris wished that the Alliance had perfected cloning technology before they all went under though, she was one of the best soldiers on the ship.

"The pilot said _sane_ sentient Cynthia, not screwball shock trooper from Hell's Doorstep!" Hunkol replied with a barking laugh.

"Flattery didn't work a thousand years ago, it's not going to work now!"

"Looks like you're going to have to out score her in kill count then." Chris added to the little conversation right when the side doors opened up. It was daytime now, their next target was the flank west of the capital city since they were the line having the most trouble. Add in a VIP stuck behind enemy lines and the air in that sector finally being safe, Chris' team was practically a godsend.

"ETA 3 minutes and counting. We're dropping you off via fast rope so that we can get back and pick up another squad heading south of here ASAP."

"Copy that; stay safe, Pilot." Chris replied, hooking into the fast-roping bar above, and then deciding against it. His weight would cause the entire gunship to come crashing towards the ground and he could take a large impact.

"Anything on comms?"

"Just a lot of cursing between platoons and Colonel Torpa spouting out orders." the copilot replied. "Looks like you'll be working with Spirit Brigade!"

"Spi-" Chris started before shaking his head. He'd find out when he got there, though he did recall a briefing involving Colonel Torpa back when he was only a Lieutenant and in a different branch.

"Alright! Reaching the drop zone in 10 seconds, get ready to jump!"

* * *

Torpa grinned slightly when the gunship came into view, though felt a little annoyed that he needed a SpecOps team to help break through the enemy lines. His troops were the best of the best, but these shock troopers that the Crandos had managed to scour up were being a much bigger pain than he had ever anticipated. General Erianus looked equally annoyed at their inability to break the line, though his was more that General Carlson gave Torpa's plan the green light.

20 men and women fast-roped to the ground, moving out of the way as soon as they were unhooked. The last man didn't use a rope and simply dropped to the ground 30 feet below in freefall.

The crater he made wasn't too big but it sent a small shockwave throughout the immediate area. Chris stood up straight into a salute which the two officers promptly returned.

"Glad to have you here, Centurion." Erianus said.

"Quite the entrance." Torpa added.

"Well, I've got to keep things fresh somehow. Might as well make a dramatic entry whenever anyone is looking."

"And when no one is looking?"

"They're my targets and they never see me coming." Chris quipped back, getting a laugh from the colonel.

"Ok, I'm actually glad they called him in now." the twi'lek officer said with a smirk, "Follow us and we'll get you up to speed."

* * *

"Grey Team has arrived and are getting a short briefing from Colonel Torpa. Erianus is still getting the line ready but they should be able to press the attack within the day."

"How are our boys in orbit?" Hannah asked the officer whose station she was leaning over.

"Repelling another counter attack. They had more ships in system just not at New Fentok so we're having to bait them into attacking before the real reinforcements arrive in two days."

"And no word from Admiral Nelson?"

"None since that call he managed to make but drones may have pinpointed the building he and his platoon are holed up in."

"What sort of verification do you have?"

"A crashed laarty two streets over and a few dozen dead Crandolians."

"... yeah, that's him." Hannah replied, suppressing a smirk. Quietly she moved away from the officer and got back to the main holotable, noting that the eastern flank was moving forward again with the help of Blue Squadron.

"Open a channel to Kamnia."

"Channel open, ma'am." one of the AIs replied as the hologram of a female Selkath appeared on the table in front of her.

"Kamnia, I need you to slow down your forward movement to a crawl so that I can recall Blue Squadron for the western flank. Turns out the center of their line stumbled upon more than just trenches."

"Erianus was never much of an attacker anyway."

"That's why I moved Spirit Brigade and our 'new friends' to the front line."

"That bad, eh?" Kamnia replied with a smirk. "Should I save my usual feminist comment for when the room isn't full of males?"

"Save it for if we ever hit the bar again."

"Aye, ma'am. Kamnia out."

* * *

"Droid support is up and phasing into the line, General."

"Armor?" Torpa asked.

"Canderous units will be moving forward in sync with the infantry." another orderly replied.

"Colonel Torpa..." Erianus said quietly, looking out from his observation post. "Would you like to give the order?"

The Colonel grinned at that, looking out at the line ahead of them before grabbing his helmet and getting it on snuggly.

"As soon as we have air support, I'll shout the damn order while I charge."

* * *

"This is flight officer Garren, go ahead."

"Head to grid 7 and support an advance." air control ordered through the helmet com. "Blue Squadron is to cover the western front offensive until ordered otherwise."

"Copy that, heading their now." Garren replied. The com channel switched to SQDCOM and he relayed the orders to his squadron of 30 X-wing, ARC-170m, and TIE Interceptor fighters. Blue Squadron was usually a space-superiority squadron meant to hunt down fighters and corvettes, though that didn't mean they didn't have the skills needed to supply boots on the ground with precision ground support.

This was, however, their first time being at the command of General Carlson or Admiral Nelson. They were the pride of the Third Fleet, not the First like the Lucky-7 Squadron.

They all banked either to the left or right before screaming off towards Cyanojek and Garren actually let himself smile. Things were finally coming to a head.

* * *

Nelson was taking his turn on watch on the fourth floor while one of the sharpshooters grabbed a meal and a short nap. Quietly he observed the street below, noting that once in a while a stray bugger or Black Moon soldier would get within the sight line of his men and be quickly dispatched or at least wounded. Nelson only saw one limp away though.

Boring was one way to put guard duty, but he'd be damned if he didn't lend as many hands as he could... though the view was rather nice. Most buildings over 10 stories in height had been cut down by enemy bombardment, the fighting that had happened when the Lumarians had to pull out, and even a little from Eclipse tanks overshooting their targets, so he could see past the city to the farmland that was surprisingly rather intact.

A shudder in the air and a laser blast impacting a building three blocks down snapped him out of the small trance he had worked himself into. The next moment, even more laser fire impacted buildings, gun emplacements, and even strafed the street next to their hideout.

When Nelson noticed the cyan markings on the wings of the aircraft passing, he grinned ear to ear.

"Pack up boys! We're getting ready to move!"

"Sir!? Why the sudden change?" someone from below asked.

"Because the cavalry has arrived!"

* * *

"Forward men! Advance!" Torpa bellowed over the com as he and the rest of Spirit Brigade began the charge. Blue Squadron already provided the suppressing fire that they needed to get up and moving and the rest was up to fate. The storm of blaster rifle tracers, tank, mortars, and artillery shells was so thick you could walk on it and was more than enough to make the enemy think twice about popping their heads up to fire back.

Further inside the town, troops continued streaming down the streets to the front line as carefully as they could manage so that they wouldn't get picked off by Eclipse air. One street however, was turning into a combat zone that none seemed to be able to break. A Crandolian tank had been moving down the street before an Eclipse commando with two lightsabers jumped on it, cut the hatch open, and disabled it, turning it into a roadblock.

To make matters worse for the Crandos, 15 more streamed out of the building and behind the roadblock. Five went into the building across the street while the other ten took up firing positions that turned the pocket of resistance they had created when they crashed into a bulge in the line.

* * *

Chris walked with the line steadily next to one of the tanks as everyone advanced. He grimaced slightly when return fire finally started arcing towards them and impacted the shields of the tank next to him and his own personal ones. It was only once the line started to waver again that he got the order that he and the rest of Grey Squad had been waiting for.

"All units break formation! Repeat, all units break formation and charge the bastards!" he heard over his com unit. Torpa hadn't even gotten to the word 'repeat' before Chris, Hunkol, Cynthia, and the rest of Grey Squad had broken formation and sprinted ahead of the entire. The Centurion was the first to breach the line, jumping up over the front trench and landing on a Crandolian soldier. The bugger didn't even know what hit him before Chris' arm cannon discharged into the side of his head.

Cynthia was the second to breach the line, landing in the middle of the trenches and operating in her trademark berserker fashion by shooting or beating anything to death with her rifle, sidearm, or her armored fists.

Torpa had the honor of making it across the line third, firing from the hip to suppress the enemy while making the precision shots with his high-powered pistol. Heads ceased to exist or went flying off as the twi'lek continued to pop off marks one by one.

The rest of the line started impacting in random intervals, making breaks in the line or simply smashing into it. Crandolian Shock Troopers were still a trouble to beat but the withering fire continued to down them one by one.

As did a certain super-soldier's fists.

* * *

_"37."_ Chris thought, adding to his tally as one of the crimson armored soldiers finally crumpled to the ground with a hole clean through his armored torso. He grinned as enemy fire continued to spatter his shields and he simply returned fire with his arm cannon, silencing a stationary machine-gun nest before starting forward again. On his flank, he thought he saw the shimmer of a lightsaber, but looked forward again as the road in front of him detonated.

_"Mortars, no ID on who shot it though."_ he thought again before sprinting forward again. More rounds continued to fill the street, and unbeknownst to him, the other streets that Eclipse soldiers were running through, so he decided the best way to avoid them, was to avoid the street altogether. He aimed his left wrist up at the nearest building and fired the grappling line into the highest portion of wall he could see, pulling himself up and running along the wall before leaping off and starting the process again on the side of a building across the small street.

Republic Knights assigned to this flank of the liberation effort were following suite, leaping off roofs, walls, and even through blown out windows much like they had at Vev Site weeks beforehand until three of them reached a roadblock made out of a Crandolian hovertank.

* * *

If there was anything that Nelson was good at besides tactics and soldiering, it was rallying troops and making a scene of things to get something done.

So when he started to see Knights, shock troops, and members of the Spirit Brigade start filtering in behind him and all around, he immediately jumped up on the roadblock despite the incoming enemy fire. Deflecting what he could with the saber in his left hand, he holstered his pistol and let the saber in his right arm shoot into his palm.

He pointed his right arm forward, the plasma lancing around him seeming to not want to touch him, and charged forward with the rest of the line with a simple but effective battle cry.

"For the Republic!"

* * *

"Western lines have finally broken through ma'am!" Ops announced.

"Admiral Nelson is in combat, leading from the front!" another stated.

"Enemy line is falling back!"

All around her, status updates from the western flank were sounding off one after another as good news finally started pouring in. The holographic representation of the battlefield showed friendly blue unit markers all moving forward while the red continued to withdraw or simply disappear from the field.

"Move Crusader support directly overhead, I want the Erianus, Torpa, and Nelson to have every advantage possible.

* * *

The last thing that Admiral James Mendez had ever expected to see come across the main screen of his bridge was the Supreme Admiral of any government's fleet not only on the ground, but participating in a charge into heavily fortified enemy lines and _smiling_ as he did so.

And then Chris appeared on the screen as well, joining the fray next to Nelson and blasting or slicing at anything in sight. They both used the height difference between the two to their advantage, Chris bearing down on enemies while Nelson continued to dart around and keep out of the Centurion's way.

_"Tactical mind and dangerous on the ground... I guess Chris wasn't joking when he put 'Authority equals asskicking' in his report..."_ Mendez thought with a hint of a grin.

"New contacts sir, not too big and they're out of range of the main fleet. HBC strike has been requested." the Ops officer stated, breaking the admiral from his train of thought.

"Then let's oblige. Weapons, make it so."

"Already charged and waiting for targeting data."

"Uploading now, sir." Thomason added.

"Fire when ready."

* * *

When Torpa finally made it to where it was reported that Admiral Nelson was fighting, the charge was already near the westernmost edge of Cyanojek. Nelson was more than glad to see one of his officers and actually managed a smile when the twi'lek ran over while still laying down cover fire.

"Nice of you to join the party, sir!"

"I'm the one that started the damn party, I'm just finally getting to join in the dancing." Nelson quipped back. "Please tell me that this town isn't the farthest forward that the western flank is right now."

"Status updates are showing the rest of the line keeping pace right behind or a little ahead of us, we'll stabilize and set up defensive positions within the next three to four hours so that Blue Squadron can lay down fire on those military bases."

"Casualties?"

"Spirit is down 20 percent, nothing too bad."

"Good, get them up on the front and keep those droids moving up."

"Aye aye, sir!" Torpa replied. He got up and sprinted over to the nearest building that still had standing walls to get a forward command post set up while the line kept moving forward.

"I didn't know you danced, sir." Chris said.

"Only sparingly." Nelson replied with a smirk. Behind them, Grey Squad and Nelson's Krayt Platoon interspersed among each other and took up defensive positions along the edge of the town. Ahead, the Crandolian army was still pulling back as fast as they could. It was practically a rout but chasing at this point would only be detrimental and Erianus was again practicing his trademark cautiousness.

"And even then, only with women."

"I wasn't aware that the annual Post-Huge-ass-counter-invasion Ball was this week, I guess I'll have to ask someone else."

"As long as it's not me, we won't have a problem." Nelson retorted with a laugh before finally taking a seat on a sidewalk that was surprisingly intact.

"Feeling ok, Adm- Captain?"

"Fine, just fine... someone call me a ride, I need to get to the _Shield and Sword_."

* * *

"Blue Squadron is heading back to us to refuel and rearm, ma'am."

"And their support job?" Hannah asked.

"Successful; lines stabilized 30 minutes ago and a damaged Venator is going to lay down precision bombardment on the bugger bases west of NF-19."

"Set up one of our reserves half a mile back from Erianus' rear... after that, we'll assess again and decide our next move." she replied, "We have plenty of breathing room now, so let's make sure we don't take any steps back."

"My troops are already moving away from the city walls, they'll be able to help with forward movement from now on." Boyef added, "With any luck, we can start taking cities back instead of just towns."

"Orbit is in good shape and I'm fine too by the way, thanks for asking." a familiar voice came from the entrance of the War Room. Standing in the doorway was Admiral Nelson in his battle worn armor and uniform. Most of the Lumarian officers in the room looked up and widened their eyes. To most, he was the very symbol of death and despair much like Vader was to his troops back before he was killed. To Boyef, he was already transformed into a dark savior who was borderline crazy.

To General Carlson, he was the best thing she had seen all day. It took every bit of her will power to keep a straight face and not run over to hug the battered idiot, but she managed.

"The real question is whether or not orbit will still be fine... Erianus told me he had a bad feeling this morning." Nelson said, frowning slightly when he saw some color drain from Hannah's face.

"Every Knight felt it, Ed..."

"How bad are we talking, then?" he asked, crossing his arms tightly.

**"****_He_**** is coming.**


	32. Chapter 31

Evacuation was a last ditch effort to save civilian lives but it was a necessary last ditch effort, and something Nelson never enjoyed doing. Regardless though, the decision was unanimous and anyone not in a military uniform was busy being herded onto the Lumarian ships to be transported out of the system. The only catch though, was it was a long process and before even a tenth of the available population was able to get off planet, hyperspace radar systems were pinging contacts all over the incoming vectors.

Nelson had gotten fixed up easily enough and made nice with the Lumarian officers before getting an escorted shuttle back up to the _Kindred Spirit_. Once back he opted to change into full armor given just who was going to be paying them a visit and had also put his affairs with Senate in order.

Torcille and Jacobs were not happy when they found out that he wasn't evacuating his own forces and getting the hell out of there but they both agreed that if they ran now, they'd be leaving the planet for dead and any hope for an alliance would die with it.

"ETA, 10 minutes, sir..." Joshua said quietly, "Fleet is stealthed and _Mandalore_is in position... no new intel from the ground."

"Anything from General Carlson?"

"Just the private file she sent you an hour ago." the AI replied, getting a solemn nod from Nelson. He sat in silence, much like the rest of his crew, putting morbid thoughts aside and preparing themselves for what was to come.

* * *

"Weapons at full charge, we'll be ready to blast anything in our path the moment we enter realspace, my lord." an officer announced from his station.

"I want engine power devoted to weapons as soon as we get into position. Shields at full front as well; we'll let the fleet take care of our sides." Abyss ordered, standing up from his throne. "And I want Nelson's ship singled out and targeted as soon as possible."

"8 minutes sir. Scanners are showing they still have a super-capital present."

"Damn... fine, all guns on _that_and then once it's out of the picture, we find Nelson."

"Sir, if I may... what exactly is the plan after we break the back of their fleet?" the captain, his subordinate once he decided to head to ground, asked.

"We glass the planet and start terraforming it for your kind as soon as it cools off."

"My lord... we still have troops down there."

"And your species reproduces at an alarming rate. We have reserves, Captain; they don't."

* * *

Hannah watched the countdown from the bridge of the _Shield and Sword_quietly. It had been retasked with orbital defense while the War Room that it had was still being used by Lumarian High Command to organize the evacuation and make sure that anyone they could get out alive had the best chance of doing so.

"5 minutes." the automated voice announced. Once the small echo of the announcement died out, things once again got so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the engine room if you were on the bridge. No one was talking, no one was joking, and no one was thinking of something witty to say as they waited.

Everyone had seen the recordings, everyone had heard of the reports.

Everyone had heard of _Him_.

* * *

Kaylin sat in the cockpit of her fighter, not speaking or even trading banter with Heroz. Her ARC and the rest of Lucky 7 floated motionlessly next to the _Kindred Spirit_.

"3 Minutes." the announcement said again. She shut it off permanently at that point, she did better when she reacted off of sight not estimates anyway.

"This is it, eh?" Heroz finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah... yeah, this is the big one, buddy..."

"Promise not to get us shot down, ma'am?"

"Only if you nut up and come clean with me, Heroz."

"As long as you're buying the drinks." he replied, looking at the timer. 2 minutes...

"Promise me, Dusty..."

* * *

Nelson felt his muscles getting tense and while he marveled at the simulated feel of it, he was somewhat annoyed that the surgeons could replicate the nerve signals so accurately. Less than a minute to go and he finally felt like he was ready...

_"Who am I kidding, nothing prepares you to face your worst nightmare again..."_he thought.

30 seconds.

Nelson brought up a small hologram on the holoprojector embedded in the arm, looking carefully at the words on it.

20 seconds.

He shut the hologram off, standing up and walking to the front of the bridge.

10...

His helmet started to curl around his head.

9...

Hannah took a deep breath.

8...

Kaylin gripped the throttle and joystick tightly.

7...

Boyef looked on at the overview of New Fentok solemnly, letting out a sigh.

6...

Admiral Mendez scowled, the last thing he wanted to do was see that _monster_again.

5...

Nelson's helmet closed around his face, leaving an unforgiving reflective black faceplate.

4...

"Target their exit vector...

3...

"... all weapons..."

2...

"...all ships..."

1

"... **Fire.**"

* * *

Abyss let a smile curl onto his face when they entered realspace. _The Void_immediately came under fire but the shields held like steel against so many BB pellets. The escort fleet accompanying the 25 kilometer long ship opened up as well, laying down plasma fire in just about any direction they believed an Eclipse ship was lurking.

The Near-Immortal only scowled when he noticed that the R&D department had screwed up and the Mass Driver rounds that some of the ships fired bypassed the shields. The only thing that spared whoever wrote the report on the new shielding system was that the armor plating was holding exceptionally well.

"Focus fire on their super-capital, all other ships are to hold formation at all costs."

* * *

"Break off and fire at will! Move into battle group patterns and break their fleet down piece by piece." Nelson barked. "_Mandalore_, and any other Aggressor class ships, focus ion weapons on their super-capital. Might as well add in the plasma shots as well too, we need to crack that thing if we're going to have any chance of leaving here alive."

"Admiral, left flank is having trouble."

"Inbound fighters!"

"Enemy torpedoes heading straight towards us!"

"Let point defense take it and someone get Blue Squadron up here as well, I want them working in tandem with Lucky 7." Nelson replied to the hail of status updates he was being bombarded with. It seemed like every time a bolt of plasma hit the shields of the _Kindred Spirit_, he was needing to give out new orders and task assignments.

He grimaced when a large volley of plasma struck the shields and put them slightly off course but stood his ground.

"Admiral, if I may." Joshua said through his internal helmet speakers.

"Go ahead."

"Hacks have shown that Abyss is indeed aboard the Super-capital. It's named _The Void_ and has little to no cyber-security... though most of the systems are hard-locked, I can't break them all at once, I have to take them one at a time and even then, I can only _use_one at a time."

"Your point?"

"It's difficult to do anything and I'm also having trouble processing something about our foe."

"Get on- starboard batteries focus on that frigate... what's your point, Joshua?"

* * *

"Why does he lead the fleet and sacrifice troops when he could kill them all by himself?" one of the Admirals asked. "You're closest to him, surely you must know."

"Easy there, subordinate..." Ilea growled. "And it's simple... we're his loyal subjects, and he wants proof of that loyalty... he also wants to beat Nelson at his own game."

"Fleet tactics?"

"War... combat... tactics... if it involves one or more sentients killing each other, he wants to make Edward and his Republic squirm before killing them."

"Like a predator playing with his prey... reckless and stupid."

"Hold your tongue if you wish to keep it in your mouth." the Queen barked at him. The admiral in question quickly shrank back into his chair before another stood up. This was hour 3 of the meeting with what was left of her command staff and it was starting to wear on her.

_"I'm surprised that he hasn't killed more of our men than he already has if this is what he has to deal with on a weekly basis..."_she thought before another one stood up. This Admiral was a smaller one, mostly in charge of intelligence and logistics, making sure everyone who needed to know something did.

"_The Void_and her fleet have engaged the Republic forces above New Fentok, m'lady. Projections show victory within a day if not sooner."

"And you're one hundred percent sure?"

"The technology behind that ship is unprecedented and based off of all the data we've gotten over the years... it will hold, and it _will_ break the line. Their one super-capital is no match and their fleet can't even break her shields. Victory will belong to Lord Abyss, that much I can promise you."

* * *

Lucky 7 banked in unison towards a frigate that was being pounded by a Venator, they already had orders to shoot life-pods and while they didn't exactly agree with the tactic, quite a few had already reached the surface of New Fentok and were causing the army some troubles.

_"Needs of the many outweigh the uneasiness of the one."_she thought as they plowed through another debris field full of bugger corpses. She dismissed the feeling quickly though, these bastards would do the same to her if Abyss was really in the system.

Curving through it all, she noticed a squadron of Crando fighters detonate in quick succession and grinned when she saw cyan-stripped wings fly past them. Orders had come in long before Blue had made its way there but she wasn't complaining about backup, the more proton torpedoes, the better.

Her squadron pulled up and past the now burning frigate to join in the formation, cutting down a stray fighter that was unlucky enough to get in their way. The Squadrons both intermixed like protocol dictated and started towards the nearest heavy carrier they could find, only breaking formation and into groups of four once they let off a first volley of massed laser fire. Like flock of shriek-hawks attacking a nerf herd, they withered down the shields and fighter compliment of the massive ship before preying on what systems they could.

They only pulled off when Flight Officer Yvonia got a lucky shot to the engineering decks and started a chain reaction. By the time the ship detonated, they were already engaging an enemy squadron and doing their best to survive this mess of an engagement.

* * *

"Holding steady ma'am. _Pride of Besh_is moving up behind us to lay down cover fire."

"Move us forward at angle 160 with _Jaig Eyes_ and _Morning Glory_ and hit this bastard from below. I want shield draining to work until it overheats and mass driver fire on what we think are their hangars." Hannah ordered in reply. The ship shuddered at the sudden course correction and she grinned at the sight of a Venator and an Aggressor on her left and right opening fire. Turbolasers, an ion superbolt, and a plasma ball all impacted the ventral shields of _The Void_right before a large beam of blue light with purple lines arcing off of it impacted the shields as well.

Weapon and shield power on the _Shield and Sword_began to spike immediately, letting the gunners at every station fire at a faster pace and with more hitting power. Energy Leeching was a technology integrated into all Keldabes since their use in the service of Tyber Zann but was only effective when making direct contact with a power source as opposed to going through hull plating.

The only short coming was the unit's tendency to overheat so it could only sap the shields of the Crandolian super-capital for about a minute before warning klaxons started to blare in the engine room and the emergency shut-off was activated.

"Keep moving us forward and get behind that thing."

"We'll have to break through the fleet to do that, ma'am."

"Then get some backup and breach their line. I want us to score some hits while we can."

* * *

"Frankly, I don't give a damn if we damage something, I want an overcharged shot ready to go. Tom, do you have a target?"

"Aye sir, Joshua took over their com system and is still sifting through data. Engineering decks appear to be here though." the AI replied, bringing up a blue-print of _The Void_though a very incomplete one at that. A small area started blinking and a targeting vector was brought up.

"Make it so and make sure every ship is informed of that location and get us ready to fire."

"Power surge will burn out multiple systems, sir."

"Then we better make this shot count." Mendez replied grimly. Being dead in the water wasn't quite what he wanted, but it was worth it to have a chance of getting rid of the super-capital's shields.

"Sir, right top flank is caving and requesting assistance."

"Damn, move us off from the targeting vector and get us over there to back them up, we'll take the shot after they stabilize." he ordered, bracing as maneuvering thrusters fired and started the _Grey Ghost_towards an area that was having trouble dealing with the sudden flurry of enemy ships coming in.

"Normal charge, aim for the center of the formation and melt these buggers where they float."

"100 percent charge, Admiral; Firing!" the weapons officer announced.

* * *

Abyss looked out as a brilliant beam of orange intercepted a battle group of his, melting through 5 that were hit or glanced by the beam and melting another 7 that were too close. The following detonations disabled three more ships and the Eclipse was pressing that flank once more.

He frowned, cursing mentally at the fact that one of those damn Alliance ships was not only present, but had an operational HBC that had given his forces so much trouble before he was put into stasis.

"Get a bead on the origin of that beam and have a few dozen fighter squadrons take her ou-"

"My lord! _Kindred Spirit_has been identified and tagged!"

"Engage her and hail them." Abyss ordered.

"Hail, sir?"

"Yes, I want to have a chat with the dear admiral before we strip him of everything he loves."

"Aye, sir." the com officer replied.

* * *

"Admiral... we're being hailed..."

"By who?" Nelson asked.

"CSC _The Void_, sir... it's him."

"On screen..." Nelson replied, looking up as his chest tightened. On the screen was Abyss smiling at him, eyes bearing down on him as though the monster was in the bridge with him.

"My my, long time no see abomination... I see you gathered more of your kind to your cause over the years... a pity they all have to die with you."

"In case you didn't notice, I'm a little busy to deal with your bullshit banter, Abyss." Nelson growled.

"Oh come now, you should always have time to talk with me." Abyss replied with a grin before he vanished. "After all, I'll always have time to talk with you, Edward."

Nelson froze the moment he heard the second part of that statement, slowly turning from where he was to see Abyss standing behind him and still wearing that unsettling grin.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, staring down at the Admiral before grabbing him by his neck much like he had 2 years ago. Nelson immediately motioned for everyone to stay where they were and to not intervene. "Come now, say hello to the camera..."

* * *

"Ma'am, video message coming in from _Kindred Spirit_."

"Play it." she said before gasping loud enough to make at least one officer jump. On the main screen in front of her, Abyss was on the bridge of the _Kindred Spirit_holding Nelson by his throat up against the ceiling and smirking at the hijacked camera.

"No..." she murmured, looking on with horror as they both simply vanished from view. "No!"

* * *

The transition was instant and painful. When Nelson was finally got back on his feet, he noticed that he hit dirt. He looked up, disoriented and sick to his stomach from the sudden change.

He barely got his helmet pulled back in time to throw up on the barren dirt before he felt a boot impact his gut which not only knocked the wind out of him but caused him to puke up bile. He coughed, standing up weakly before he felt a claw strike across his face and send him flying back a few feet.

"No one ever escapes me, Nelson, Izzi should have told you that before he died." Abyss growled, all hints of the playful monster that had been on the bridge was gone. He stood up, doing his best to steady himself before shaking his head clear and getting his helmet back down. He also noted the Crando drones watching them and scowled.

_"Beating me up on camera... every ship in the system is probably watching this."_he thought.

"Saving memories for later?" Nelson spat, the reply he got was a simple punch to the chest, making him curl in on himself and cracking his armor.

"Breaking the will of your precious little republic. I will break you, your military, your government, and your allies... and then I will continue to cleanse this galaxy of filth like you."

"You really don't like synthetics, do you?" Nelson asked, running forward with his sabers and trying his best to duck and weave around blows. He caught a glancing one on the chin though and he had to back off.

"Unnatural and upsetting the natural order are all artificial life does. I balance that out, I wipe out anything that isn't supposed to exist. You are not supposed to be alive but somehow, you still are."

"And still kicking too, guess I'm just made of sterner stuff than you give me credit for, scaly." Nelson quipped back. Abyss growled and leaped towards him but stopped and landed hard midair, clutching the sides of his head. Nelson simply smirked as the defense mechanism he had activated via his external speakers continued to work.

"You remember this, don't you?!" he barked, "Didn't think we'd scan and work up our own version, did you?"

"Ho-"

"Izzi shared archives, blueprints, everything on a backup on his ship which you failed to find. Not as effective as the original but enough to turn your day sour rather quickly." Nelson growled before feeling another blow hit him on the side of the head. Abyss, though still in pain, managed to bat him aside and knock him flat on his ass.

Both stood up slowly, though Nelson couldn't get back up before Abyss did and soon found himself back up in the air by his head. His vision was completely obscured by Abyss' palm before his fingers tightened and cracked his helmet in multiple places.

The defense mechanism shut off.

"You... exist... because I allow it." Abyss snarled. "You, and your pitiful little artificial life are only here because you're fun to toy with."

"And you're only here because your mother didn't have the good sense to drop you when you were born." Nelson retorted. He braced for a blow but it never came and found himself back on the ground. Abyss was being distracted by something out of view.

* * *

Chris continued to lay down fire, blasting away though knowing it wouldn't do anything. The last time he had fought Abyss he had an entire legion at his back and they only managed to make him run... and that was a legion of Centurions.

Now he was alone, dropped off a mile away by a gunship that had launched the moment a surge of aura waves was picked up on his armor's sensors. He ran forward, letting his cloak help him move without getting hit by the blasts of energy Abyss was now sending with his outstretched fingers but he was still only annoying the monster as he closed the distance.

Leaping into the air and twisting to avoid getting hit, he brought his arm cannon down as hard as he could only to feel it impact a hand before he was sent flying by a leisurely toss.

"If you're the same Chris that gave me the scar on my back all those centuries ago, I'll get to you later." Abyss said.

* * *

"But if you don't stop, I blow up this planet before you can so much as blink." he added. Nelson was already back on his feet and scowled when Chris stood and didn't press the attack again.

_"I just can't get a break today..."_he thought, but he was far from out of the fight.

"If I only exist because you let me, then why don't you humor me?" Nelson said, grabbing the saber hilts on his belt and lighting them up. Abyss simply grinned at him before letting out a small chuckle. In his hands, dark energy started to swirl around before materializing into blades.

"Fine then, if that is your dying wish, I guess I can afford to have a little more fun."

"Just give me a good death and I won't have any trouble." Nelson replied, his helmet peeling back. Abyss made the first move, leaping forward with inhuman speed and swinging down with both blades. Nelson parried, before ducking under to avoid being crushed by the sheer force and noted that the blades were pure energy, much like his lightsabers.

Nelson made the second move, sprinting back in and landing a few blows on Abyss' legs before he had to block another powerful swing. This one sent him into the air but he was able to finally land on his feet for once. Speed was Nelson's only advantage and even that wasn't something he had over Abyss. He knew he was being toyed with and he knew that this wasn't going to end with him leaving this plain alive, but he was _not_ going down without a fight.

* * *

Hannah watched silently from her quarters on board the _Shield and Sword_. She had put the ship's captain back in charge to go watch the footage being streamed in by bugger cameras on the planet, wincing every time Nelson was hit and doing everything in her power not to grab a shuttle and help him.

It was a nightmare scenario that she had never wanted to happen, something she was having trouble even watching but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen in front of her, clinging to hope that somehow, someway, he would make it through this in one piece.

She almost smiled when she noticed that he was emulating most of her forms and techniques, but that small bit of mood lightening didn't last long. He was soon being tossed about again in a fight that was hopelessly stacked against him.

* * *

Nelson hit the ground again, this time cutting the side of his face where Abyss had already left a series of cuts on a rock embedded in the dirt. He rolled onto his stomach, trying to get back to his feet.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Abyss asked, "You won't ever just lay down and accept your fate, will you, abomination?"

"I've never been known to accept things I think I can change, ugly..." Nelson replied, slowly getting back to his feet. Abyss simply snarled,

"You can't change this fate. You're doomed no matter what you do."

"So are you... you're not immortal... nothing is."

"So you think..." Abyss replied, starting towards Nelson as he finally stood back up.

"So I know."

"Well... I must say, you've been an amusing pawn to toy with, Nelson..." Abyss said, tossing his blade up and catching it again so that the curve was facing down towards Nelson, "But your time in this world is at an end."

"See you there, Bessie." Nelson replied with a smirk. Abyss simply snarled back and brought his arm down. Nelson held up his hand as if to intercept it, a stimulus response but a futile one.

* * *

Chris watched as Abyss brought his blade down with enough force to cause dust clouds to flare up all around the two combatants. Chris couldn't see a damn thing other than the faint glow of the blade Abyss was using... but it was smaller than what he had expected.

Silently, Chris rushed forward towards the cloud. He'd stall with his own life if it meant the fleet escaped.

* * *

"Impossible..." Abyss muttered. "You... no, you are not supposed... **No.**"

Nelson was just as surprised as he was, not only that he was alive, but that he wasn't feeling any pain and that Abyss seemed... scared. He slowly turned his head forward and the moment he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped.

In the palm of his hand, the blade Abyss had created was sinking into it without actually touching it. The only way that was possible was through a Force technique called "Absorb" that Jedi and Sith alike used to protect themselves from blaster fire and even lightsabers on occasion... and he was using it.

His arm inched back as Abyss continued to press down, this time with both hands until Nelson was able to brace and stop his forward, or in this case downward, progress. Once stable, he looked Abyss dead in the eye... and smiled.

"What's the matter, Bessie? Wake something up that you didn't want to?" he asked, getting a grimace from Abyss before that glimmer of fear finally made it into his eyes.

"You are _not_supposed to have this. This was never supposed to come to light!"

"Well I'll be damned... you actually sound _scared_. After all those billions you've murdered, all the fleets you've decimated... and one 'abomination' frightens you... well guess what. You just unlocked something that you can't control." Nelson said, his voice warping slightly, "Something you're afraid of, something you told me back on Xesh and thought I wouldn't catch. Well I did. I remember... and now let me tell _you_something."

**"May the Force be with you, you son of a bitch."**

Nelson ducked under, removing the blade from his palm and stabbing it up using Abyss' own strength straight into the monster's gut. Abyss' entire body shuddered as the blade penetrated and went through his back as well and his vision flashed red for a moment. He reeled back, going down to a knee before looking up and seeing an armored fist mere inches from his face.

Centurion Chris-Z9571 was in the air by the time Nelson had stabbed Abyss in the gut with his own blade. When he looked up, his punch was already heading straight and true, impacting Abyss' right eye and sending his head straight into the ground. He kicked up, getting his face back into striking range and spin kicked Abyss in the jaw, sending him sprawling back right as a torrent of electricity hit the monster in the gut.

Nelson continued to let the stream of Force Lightning leave his fingertips despite the pain of it burning out the electronics that helped his prosthetic work. With his other hand, he let off a Force Push as powerful as he could muster, knocking Abyss back while Chris started firing his arm cannon to suppress him.

Unfortunately, before they could do any lasting damage, Abyss vanished again.

* * *

He reappeared on the bridge of _The Void_, beating off anyone who tried to come to his aid before demanding a status report.

"Shields are down but the armor is holding, the Eclipse is pressing sir, we need to leave." his Ops officer stated. Abyss simply nodded with a frown as his flagship and the majority of his fleet turned around, heading home for now.

He swore he could hear all of the sentients on the other end of the battlefield cheering as his forces ran.

_"You... you will pay... when I heal... you... are dead, Nelson."_

* * *

"That... was too close, Chris." Nelson said, still trying to catch his breath and holding his ruined left arm.

"Agreed sir... that... that was amazing. I didn't know you were a Knight like General Carlson."

"I'm not... I don't know how I did that... I don't even..." he stammered before closing his eyes and shaking his head clear again. It took him nearly a minute to steady before he extended his usable hand towards Chris.

"Nice work... I'm glad we thawed you."

"Likewise, sir." Chris replied, his faceplate pulling back to reveal a tired smile. He grasped Nelson's hand and shook before moving close and catching him as his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp. It was a small grace that his suit could tell that Nelson was still alive, but he was out for the count.

"This is Chris-Z9571, someone send in a medivac... Admiral Nelson and I need a lift and he needs medical attention ASAP." he spoke into his com unit. "Anyone copy? This is Centurion Chris-Z9571 requesting assistance."

"I copy, Chris." the familiar voice of Admiral Mendez returned. "An Eclipse gunship is inbound to your location, ETA 4 minutes."

"Thank god... how is it up where you are, sir?"

"We're doing fine, Chris... you and Nelson must have done something devastating to the enemy because the buggers are about to hyperspace out of the system."

"You mean...?"

"We actually pulled it off, marine... We took their best shot on the chin and we _won_."


	33. Chapter 32

"Where is he?" Boyef asked as he walked down one of the hallways leading away from Hangar B of the _Kindred Spirit_.

"Still in the medical bay recovering from that stunt he pulled." Hannah said as she continued to walk next to him. Behind them, their respective security escorts mingled while another group of officers were being lead by Joshua towards the main briefing room.

"And what exactly _is_ the stunt he pulled, anyway?"

"Frankly Boyef... I don't actually know, we're still trying to figure that out." she replied as they stepped into the turbolift.

"Reports said he wasn't a Knight."

"He's not."

* * *

"Replay." Nelson said from his hospital bed. In front of him, the screen he had moved in showed the _Grey Ghost_ firing off the overcharge shot that broke the shields of _The Void_ for the tenth time that day. Ever since he had woken up, he had been reviewing footage from the orbital battle that raged when he fought Abyss a week ago.

The beam fired, impacting the shields, making them break, and causing small arcs of blue electricity coming off of weapons systems and other spots on the hull. The orange beam, now darker and brighter than usual, managed to impact the hull plating for a few seconds before finally burning out.

"Enhance the image on grid 27 by 29... did we ever get readings on those tiny arcs of electricity?"

"By the looks of it they're consistent but not identical to ion overload... shield generators like that are not supposed to be overloaded so it probably had many adverse effects on that monster." Joshua replied. "You also have two visitors on their way up."

"Hannah and Boyef?"

"Lucky guess, Admiral?"

"That it was, old friend... replay quadrant 45, I want to take a closer look at why our right flank was having trouble."

"They had no backup, all other parts of the fleet had either support from the _Mandalore_ or the Lumarian navy... we've been analyzing things and they've updated their hull armor considerably on capital ships."

"Explains why they gave us such a beating at Xesh two years ago..." Nelson replied, wincing a little as he tried to lift up the screen control with his left arm. Despite the replacement being attached within hours of him shorting it out, he still managed to damage what nerve endings he had in his shoulder after using lightning. The rest of the damage was internal, more specifically his head.

He had been having visions while he was unconscious and any time he tried to sleep, he couldn't tell whether or not he'd end up having a vision, a dream, or finally getting some uninterrupted sleep. Resident Knights that survived the rescue effort couldn't figure it out, even Hannah was having trouble figuring out why this was happening or how it was even possible, though Nelson had his speculations...

"Are we interrupting?" a familiar voice chimed in, breaking Nelson from his thoughts.

"Not at all, come on in." he replied, setting down his datapad and the controller for the screen.

"Still analyzing?" she asked, sitting next to him on his hospital bed.

"That I a- ah, Boyef, nice of you to join in... might I ask why you two are visiting today?" Nelson said.

"I'm just helping her check up on you before heading to the briefing room. Your Chancellor is starting the negotiations about an alliance."

"And without me, such a pity." Nelson replied with a smirk, "Well, I'm healing well, though I'd rather not keep you from an important meeting."

"Of course... I hope you can join in soon though, the generals trust you and Carlson here about as far as they can throw the two of you combined... a chancellor on the other hand, they're being very wary with from what my aides in the room have told me." Boyef told him with a short nod to both Nelson and Carlson before turning on his heel and walking out of the medical room.

Once they were both sure that the door was not only locked but all the monitoring devices in the room had been shut off, Hannah moved up and brought Nelson into a tight hug which he eagerly returned with his good arm. They both stayed like that for a while, Hannah with the odd tear here and there and Nelson doing his best not to wince, groan, or grimace; it was the first time either of them had been able to see each other in private since _The Void_ had left the system.

"You have no idea how badly... I... damnit Ed you scared me half to death..."

"I'd apologize if I had been the one to invite that bastard here." he replied quietly, "But I guess something good came out of it...?"

"True, but the rest of the Knights, even the Knight's Council doesn't know how you managed to... just spring up Force powers." Hannah told him.

"I... I have an idea, though it's a long shot and may not be the real reason." he said, pulling her into another embrace, "Just wait for me to be able to sleep in our room before I start spilling details."

"And when will that be?"

"Hopefully tonight, I plan on walking to that meeting once I finish looking over footage from the space battle."

"Well, it _was_ your arm that was disabled, not your legs... still, don't over-exert yourself when you don't have to. The battle in space may be over but my forces on the ground are still helping to wipe out Crandolian resistance."

"And the Black Moon that fought with them?"

"Surrendering in droves; I think they finally realized that Abyss has been using them."

"Well that's one problem out of the way..." Nelson replied before gently kissing her cheek, "You should get to the negotiations, Torcille will need a friendly and well-tempered personality in there to help persuade his audience."

Hannah simply nodded and returned the kiss in reply, getting up and straightening her armored robes before heading out of the room. Once gone, Nelson resumed the recordings of the space battle from different angles, analyzing everything he could whether it was the _Morning Glory_ landing a critical blow to a carrier that had enough luck to take out three other ships with it, to the crippling shot that the _Kindred Spirit_ had taken moments after Abyss had teleported him to New Fentok.

The main plasma megacannon was still inoperable and hangar D, the emergency hangar located between Hangar A and the plasma megacannon, was completely blown in with full repairs at Forn being necessary just to get the debris cleared.

The thought of his ship being hurt like that made him cringe, but the main superstructure was still intact and could survive the necessary jumps to the dockyards.

_"Thank the Force for small blessings I guess..."_ he thought, looking at the frame where the internal detonation disabled the cannon.

He didn't even want to think about all the people who died from that.

"Joshua, have a medic bring me a cane and help me into something that isn't a medical gown." he ordered, sitting up in his bed and letting his legs hang over the side.

"Right away, should they fetch the cane from your quarters?" the AI asked, getting a chuckle from the Supreme Commander. He nodded with a grin; he had never expected to remove his grandfather's Rancor bone cane from the case in his quarters, nevertheless need to use the damn thing.

"If they damage it, they get a two minute stint in an empty airlock." Nelson finally said, "And send the meeting audio into my ear piece, I want to know just when to hobble into the room."

"Staging a dynamic entry, Admiral?"

"As long as only you and I know it, it's not staged." Ed quipped with a smirk before getting to his feet for the first time in 7 days.

* * *

"The Alliance will be a definite, Chancellor, but anything else may be asking too much." a Lumarian general said, crossing his arms.

"Annexation would be a benefit for both of us, general... equalized trade and defense capabilities without the red tape." Torcille replied, leaning forward in his chair more, "All of your planets suddenly have more representation in government than they do now and the military benefits are immense."

"Add in your current position with the Crandolians making more headway in Lumarian space as compared to Eclipse territory." Hannah added, "You'd be able to reclaim what planets you've lost or can't send relief too."

"Those incursion are the only reason that our republic isn't larger than yours." Boyef retorted, "Though if I may, sirs... a close knit alliance or even a melding of governments and military strength _would_ be the safest option for the civilian population."

"Safest?!" an admiral barked, "Do you have any idea how many of our people still think they caused Xesh? I wouldn't be surprised if we had riots and terror attacks once we break news of just this simple alliance! To even think of anexat-"

"You're too late for the terror attacks, actually..." Torcille interjected. "Our Anti-Espionage Department stopped a bombing that was aimed at a military base on Aurek that had backing from the Lumarian Military... we pinned the failed attack on the Black Moon pirates to keep our population from screaming for more Lumarian blood."

The tension and awkwardness that followed Torcille's interruption was thick enough to be cut by a knife. No one spoke for what had to be at least five minutes before Senator Tinto stood up from his chair next to Torcille and brought up the galactic map on the holotable in front of him and in the briefing room that the Lumarian leadership was in. On it, Eclipse and Lumarian space was highlighted in blue, while the Crandolians were highlighted in red, with dark orange covering everything else.

"Gentlemen... The Eclipse and Lumarian Republics take up roughly one percent of the known galaxy... the Crandolians have two, and everything else is uninhabited or has no life with the intellect to travel between systems as we do..."

"Your point being...?" someone asked.

"We're outnumbered quite a bit and arguing about who should rule who is only going to get people killed." Nelson said, causing everyone in the room to turn a head towards him and him to mentally smirk. "Annexation is an ugly topic but a necessary one and Senator Tinto just showed you something rather tough to deal with. No matter how large we think our governments are, we're not that big compared to everything else."

"We need to work together if we're to survive contact with anything that is Crandolian... on a relative scale, only has our collective territory surrounded on the north, south, and west... the 'eastern' side of the galaxy is still largely unexplored and if there's anything like Abyss out there as Omega Initiative Archives suggest... petty differences need to be put aside." Tinto added.

"At least until this Crandolian issue is resolved for good." Nelson finished, looking over to Hannah with a small smile.

Once again, silence covered the room like a blanket before Boyef let out a small cough.

"I believe the rest of the Leadership and I will need some time to deliberate in private." he said, "Senator, Chancellor... Admiral Nelson... I know I don't speak for everyone here when I say this, but thank you for the opportunity to become something greater... and for saving our asses when the rest of our fleet was occupied."

"Better to face a larger foe with allies than shoot everything on sight." Torcille replied, "Nelson, give us a call when they're ready."

"Of course, sir." the Admiral replied before the feed cut out. "General Carlson, I think they want us to wait outside. Mind helping a temporary cripple get out without hurting himself?"

"Keep that attitude up and I won't train you to control your powers, Nelson." she quipped with a smirk before escorting him out. The guards outside both snapped to attention again before getting a laid back 'at ease' from Nelson.

"Well... that didn't take long."

"The terms were simple... making a suitable treaty and getting the nuances of the alliance or annexation down will take months though." Hannah replied, "With any luck though, we'll be seeing Eclipse ships with our superior hull plating and their superior shielding."

"All we need now is an HBC on every Aggressor and we'll truly be a force to be reckoned with." Nelson told her with his signature misbehaving grin to which she gently nudged his shoulder.

"With a Knight and a Centurion leading the charge, we'll be damn near invincible." she quipped with a warm smile.

"I thought Knights took at least a year of formal training to get the official rank."

"That they do, though in your case it'll be more of a case of controlling what you have as opposed to enhancing what little there is."

* * *

Heroz and Kaylin were both sitting on an empty ammo crate when they saw another Lucky 7 ARC get towed into the shop for repairs. Though more accurately, it was Kaylin using Heroz as a convenient pillow and her co-pilot not objecting to the treatment. In fact it was common practice for the two behind closed doors, though after surviving the Crandolian counter-assault, almost everyone in what was being labeled as the _Republic Victory Fleet_ by the press that was involved romantically involved with anyone was busy accelerating their plans, especially couples that lived and worked on the same ships together.

Not all of those couples that suddenly came out of the blue however were expected, and Nelson had already released a general order that public fraternization protocols were still in effect and that living quarter transfer requests wouldn't be handled until after they were back in Eclipse space.

One of those somewhat out of the blue sets was Kaylin and her co-pilot Heroz, though their sudden ditching of the rules was to be expected after taking a nasty hit and barely making it back to the hangar.

"Why am I awake and not in my bunk right now...?" she asked with a groggy tone.

"Because our bunk area currently has most of Hangar D on top of it, Kay."

"Right... go move it out, I want my bed back."

"Not happening." Heroz deadpanned with a smirk. "Though I'm sure you can find a Knight somewhere to lift all that debris out of the way."

"You know I trust Knights about as far as I can throw them..."

"Thus the joke."

"... damnit Dusty..."

* * *

"So he has Psios powers just like Abyss?" Mendez asked, leaning forward in his chair slightly.

"His abilities sent off the same alarm spikes that go off when Abyss is doing something fancy with his mind, so I can only assume that they use the same source or my sensors picked up something similar and didn't know how to report it to me." Chris reported.

"That's... well... Lieutenant, what do you make of this?" the Admiral asked, looking over to his XO, Lieutenant William Scheel.

"Given the information we've processed, there is nothing but loathing between the Eclipse and Abyss, so they won't exactly be teaming up anytime regardless of how they access their supernatural powers." Scheel replied, "You know I don't put my trust into anyone easily, James... but this new turn... this change in variables... it's only aiming in our favor."

Mendez scowled for a moment before leaning back and for the first time since they arrived in the system, allowing himself to slump into it and relax. Very slowly, he removed his glasses and gently put them on the table; the one thing he ever did that betrayed how old he really was and sometimes felt.

"Thank you Will... well, I guess the decision is effectively final then, isn't it? Keep working and get some sort of agreement written up with the Republic. I'm sure they would love to know how the HBC works."

"Permission to speak freely, sir." Chris requested.

"Granted."

"I've been getting 'upgrades' and improvements from Eclipse techs ever since we were thawed... they have access to Omega Initiative archives that we never got a chance to see and that the Betrayers never got their hands on... archives we can use very effectively."

"What are you suggesting, Z9571?" Scheel asked.

"That we restart the Centurion Program."

* * *

"Ilea... please... ju-"

"Not happening, Abyss." she interrupted. On a normal day, she'd never attempt such a thing, but given his weakened state and how it was effecting his personality, she was willing to be firm with the near-god.

"Fine." he coughed, still sitting up but now with a little help from the Crandolian Queen. When he had gotten back to the palace, his wound had barely finished closing up and healing but the large scar left on his gut wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. He refused to be seen or see anyone save Ilea and even then, she had to order the guards posted outside his quarters to stand down just so she could get inside.

"Just take it easy, my lord... I know you won't be dying from this but you need to rest before you even think about recovery."

"There is a reason I never request a doctor, Ilea..." he growled before another cough racked his body and he spit out another globule of white blood. The rate at which he coughed up what was effectively his 'blood' had slowed over the past few hours, but it was still enough to have both him and Ilea worried.

"The same reason men never ask for directions when they're lost."

"Pride."

"And not wanting the public to see their terrible lord in such a... damaged state." she quipped, getting a small yet feral smirk from Abyss.

"If you had said vulnerable I would've have hurt you."

"And then you'd need to call in a doctor to see to me and they'd see what a mess you are."

"Sometimes... you are too smart for your own good..."

"If I wasn't you would have replaced me years ago." she told him with a small grin. The look that she got back however, while not exactly inspiring confidence, at least let her know that he was going to survive and be back to his abusive self within weeks instead of months.

_"It beats having our 'god' out of commission for a year at least..."_

"For the Glory of the Abyssal Dominion?" she asked, saying a title that only they had discussed once before. Abyss simply nodded deeply and let himself be laid back onto the bed before attempting to meditate.

"I am not to be disturbed... though if you wish to meditate with me, I shall not object this time." he told her, his voice back in its usual commanding tone. Ilea gave a wily smirk before taking a seat next to him and closing her eyes, attempting to go back to her old lessons as she let her mind and thoughts wander to anything she fancied.

* * *

Nelson and Carlson both stood outside the briefing room and checked their timepieces for what had to be the 20th time that hour as they waited for the Lumarian High Command to make up their minds. Both wanted to be either enjoying a meal or a nap but this was one of those times when the price of command bit them in the butt and they were stuck standing and waiting.

_"At least their politicians are military leaders and not the other way around..."_ Nelson thought, looking over at the door again and letting out a small sigh.

Hannah wasn't too far from his train of thought as she continued to pace, something that Nelson would be doing if walking around wasn't such a difficult task for him in his current condition. The only saving grace was a bolt that had come loose during combat that he had picked up on the way to the meeting and was now practicing his telekinesis with.

Needless to say, it wasn't going well. He could get the bolt about an inch into the air above his hand before he started to feel weak and lightheaded, but progress was always started in small strides and doing that much without the adrenaline in his system was a small victory for now.

"Sir, ma'am, if I may." Joshua said, interrupting whatever thoughts they were entertaining, "The Lumarians have finished their deliberations... Torcille is back on the line and they're ready for you to come back in."

"Thank you Joshua." Nelson replied before looking at Hannah. She smiled warmly and moved over, looping her arm in his both affectionately and to make sure he didn't fall over as he moved. The doors opened, the holotable sprang back to life, and Boyef stood as the two entered the room again.

"General, Admiral... Chancellor..." Boyef said, looking at all three in turn, "We've made our decision."


	34. Season 2 Epilogue

"Concentrate dear... try and really _feel_ the Force flowing underneath... like currents under the surface of the water..." Hannah said quietly. Nelson had been practicing meditation as part of his training for the better half of the week since the Treaty of New Fentok had been signed and so far hadn't made much progress.

Though that was as long as you didn't count the uncontrolled burst of power that sent a nearby pair of sparring Knights hurtling into the bulkhead.

This time however, he managed to levitate himself an inch above the deck plating without thinking about it before he started feeling lightheaded again.

"That was... well, it was better than sending Johnson and Hufner into a wall again." Hannah said, getting a small grin from Nelson as he stood up slowly.

"The headaches are getting better... less severe than usual."

"Rather good progress for two weeks in."

"And all it took was Abyss to be stupid enough to use a blade of energy on me..."

"Is that why your powers unlocked so suddenly?"

"One of the reasons." Nelson replied quietly. "Though you know the rest already..." he added before feeling her arms wrap around him.

"I'll be working with my other Knights if you need me, for now though our session is done for the day. Thinking you can hobble back to the room or bridge without me?"

"I'll be fine, now get to work General." he quipped with a grin as he started towards the exit of the training room.

"Aye Adm-... Aye, Captain." she replied. When she did, he stopped where he was and turned, smiling a little.

"Admiral... my proper rank is Admiral."

* * *

"Intel says they've accepted a probationary annexation." the intelligence officer stated. "The Eclipse Republic is effectively 23 worlds now as opposed to just 14 and on top of that... we lost Jthentia."

"How did you _lose_ a military stronghold? It hadn't even made contact with the enemy three days ago." Abyss growled.

"An Eclipse task force retaliating for the strikes on the hyperspace route to Aurek. They glassed every major city and military base in the system. Military assets in the system have been reduced to less than five percent and population around the same."

"The price we pay for no small towns..." Ilea sighed. "Oh well, drones into the meat grinder... are they attempting colonization?"

"Militarization, I believe. Drones show a fleet still holding position and what we believe to be the frames of multiple orbital defense platforms being moved into position. They may be making a stagger point to keep us from jumping to their home system without a fight."

"Get out." Abyss told the officer in a flat tone that was surprisingly calm. Within seconds the throne room was empty again save him and Ilea.

"We should strike as soon as possible, get a task force ready... maybe even send in _The Void_." the Queen said after a few moments of silence.

"No... let them hold the system... let them get overconfident and overextend their fleet, then we strike hard."

"Distract with the wounded leg." Ilea mused.

"And stab them in the back with the poison dagger." Abyss added with a smirk. Things would work out properly, it was all just a matter of time.

* * *

"My lord... one of them survived The Purge..." a woman in armor that looked more like fluid as opposed to metal said quietly.

"Rise, Arch-Mage, you were not responsible for his survival. You have nothing to fear..." an unnaturally deep male voice returned from the throne she was kneeling in front of.

"Of course, majesty." she replied, standing up slowly and folding her arms behind her back. "He is up to the same games he was up to back during the War of the Half and the Alliance War."

"Of course he is... he is a low class whelp that enjoys playing with lesser beings in order to feel powerful."

"And what about his adversaries? He accidentally transferred power to the ring-leader of this little... Republic."

"Of course he did, he was and still is as egotistical and overconfident as he is weak. It matters not though, I will send House Pyranius to reclaim their old territory when the time comes... for now though... I am content to sit and observe..."

"Might I ask when we will know the time is right to move?" the Arch-Mage asked. The being in front of her grinned and snapped, making a map of the galaxy appear out of thin air despite there being no projectors anywhere in the room.

"My dear lieutenant, we move..." he replied, walking over to the representation and cupping the planet labeled 'Alpha' in one of his massive hands, "...when I _hunger_."


	35. Chapter 33

"Calling in Crando bunker location! 27 by 92 grid 271!" an Eclipse second lieutenant barked into his com unit while hunkering down behind the husk of a Canderous Assault Tank. Almost as soon as he had called in the artillery strike, he heard the whirr of plasma shells inbound and quickly told the rest of his platoon to get low. Heat washed over the area as the shells detonated on and inside the Crandolian bunker that housed at least 3 heavy machine guns that were making the assault on this part of the beachhead total hell.

Oddly enough though, this was the first time in anyone's recent memory since the Battle of Kashyyyk during the Clone Wars that troops had to assault an actual beach from the water. Advanced shielding kept capital ships from bombarding the major cities and bases and from landing troops anywhere near them, so Jacobs had to have his armies landed on whole different continents to set up bases, armories, war factories, and a whole slew of other logistical buildings while the navy kept upstairs clear.

Second Lieutenant Uyon peeked around the burnt out tank shell to see a smoldering crater where the bunker used to be as well as a sizable hole in the earthworks that were keeping the Army of the Fifth Fleet from pushing forward. The walls were littered with craters where bunkers used to be as well as artillery pieces that were blown to pieces or on fire from Eclipse fire and with steady progress, Canderous tanks and infantry started making progress up the red sand.

* * *

On a nearby command ship, an Aggressor hovering a hundred meters over the water five miles off shore from the landing zone, General Park continued to look over the holotable showing the assault with data updated every two to three seconds given how hectic the entire situation was. Canderous Tank and Ronto Armored Personnel Carriers in the thousands landing marines, regular soldiers, and every shade of battle droid the Eclipse had all along a 3 mile front.

The entire assault was moving forward sluggishly but he had expected that given the... archaic form that he had to resort to in order to achieve the objective given to him and Admiral Jacobs. Senth Site was a high priority target in what was shaping up to be year three of the war since the opening shots during Nelson's Defense of Forn. From what the archives told of, Senth was another factory type Site, though of what magnitude no one could figure out.

"General, good news." the tactical AI reported.

"Report."

"Anti-aircraft emplacements along this chunk of the front." he said, lighting up the entire western half of the LZ, "Have been neutralized by our commando strike teams. Air control is already giving NCOs on the beach the green light to call in airstrikes."

"Call in bomber support to strafe areas behind the beach as well. Location of our commando teams?"

"Most are here, three miles south of the guns they destroyed and well outside danger close range. Something tells me Het-Dai is wanting his teams to infiltrate the city ahead of schedule."

"Tell him to go ahead at his own convenience." Park replied with a small smirk, "Iron Squadron has the go ahead to let their bombers peel off to lay waste to these points." he added, making a dozen icons pop up on the holotable.

"Orders away sir."

* * *

Uyon kept sprinting forward, his 30 man platoon following close behind as they reached the crater his artillery call had created. They stacked up on the lip of the smoking gap in the wall before a corporal poked his head up and ducked down just as quickly, barely dodging the plasma bolt that went flying past.

"Pop grenades on my signal. Make sure to get past the lip on the other side." Uyon ordered, pulling a thermal detonator from the slots on the back of his belt. Everyone else in the platoon followed suit before getting an affirmative nod and tossing their grenades up and over.

Once they went off, all 31 marines sprinted through the smoke and did their best not to stumble on the smaller craters that their grenades had created. One stopped in a green puddle but ignored it as they pushed towards the nearest available cover past the wall.

All along the beachhead, similar situations were happening, bunkers blown to pieces, Eclipse troops moving up foot by foot, tanks and APCs shielding soldiers from small arms fire, and now fighter after fighter streaking by and dropping death onto the heads of the Crandolian defenders.

* * *

Lieutenant Het-Dai crept forward silently with the rest of his team. Rifles raised and and stealth systems running at full, the six man team continued down a street, or at least what the bugger equivalent to a street was. Slowly the commandos worked their way down the empty streets towards what Intel had targeted as a political building that could provide useful hostages and by extension, information on Senth.

"Everyone take a separate route through windows and the roof... I'll knock on the front door." Jeral ordered quietly through the TEAMCOM channel. A synchronized "Aye, sir" reached his ears a moment later and he smiled that his team had managed to sync up so effectively and efficiently.

Each commando sprinted forward, sacrificing the near-perfect camouflage that was disrupted by moving too swiftly in order to save time. The sooner they seized the political and literal control center of this city, the sooner the main army had a place to stage assaults on the rest of the continent and eventually, the capital city itself.

Once he was sure that the others were either already inside or in the process of breaking in windows, Jeral planted a small disc about a centimeter in thickness and an inch in diameter on the door. Three seconds after he pressed the button in the center, the door blew in with such force that the heavy Crandelium (the Eclipse name for the alloy that the Crandolians used for their armor and heavy plating) went flying across the lobby and into the far wall, crushing the reception desk in the center like it was made of playing cards.

Tossing a portable shield generator behind him to seal the entrance he just made for himself, he made his way up to the top of the building where two of his teammates and a dozen tied up buggers were waiting.

"Status?"

"Echos 6 and 5 are securing the rest of the building, 3 is working on getting the city under the control of Deadeye, and we're having fun watching these maintenance workers and the goddamn _Governor_ of this planet." the woman to the right replied, her cloaking finally shutting off and showing a crimson '2' emblazoned on her shoulder.

"You're kidding."

"Not at all, LT." 4 replied, she had the same paint job as 2 only with a stylized drop trooper emblem on the right shoulder instead of another 4.

"Well then... I guess we got a lucky break. His staff is probably back at CC-00 wondering how the hell he got stuck here and are electing a new leader among them." Jeral said, kneeling in front of the best dressed bugger in the group, "Lucky for me, very unlucky for you..."

"Save the speech you Republic dog." the Governor spat, though before he could finish off by actually spitting on Jeral's boot, he felt a blaster pistol barrel pressing against his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. You're going to tell me everything you know or I'll have a Knight drag it out of your brain the hard way. You do that and you live to see a POW camp. Clear?"

"..."

Jeral clicked the safety off and hit the charge button. It didn't actually do anything other than recycle the gas in case of a jam, or in this case, to create the very threatening and loud sound of a gun getting ready to fire.

"Clear, bug brain?"

"...clear..."

* * *

Former Chancellor Golt Torcille sat in the command chair of his old ship, the _Gangster's Gamble_, and simply watched the traffic around Aurek. He had resigned his position as Chancellor six months ago by his own volition, deciding that while he had made hard decisions, some harder to make than others, he preferred the straightforwardness of working with the fleet again.

Elections were still going on as the Lumarian worlds had extended the voting process by weeks.

Torcille almost laughed every time he realized that Grand Admiral Nelson was in charge of the Republic until a new Chancellor was elected and sworn in. For all his wanting to just lead the Navy to victory, the call of total command continued to find a way to reel him back in.

"Admiral, Grand Admiral Nelson is on the line for you sir."

"Anything particularly interesting to say to me this time?"

"Deployment orders. He's mobilizing the First, Second, and Third Fleets."

"On screen." Torcille replied, his tone becoming extremely serious. He was greeted with the familiar face of his old friend in the new uniform he had been commissioned by the Council.

"Golt, I hope I'm not breaking you away from star gazing."

"Not at all, Ed, not at all. Though my communications officer mentioned something about mass fleet mobilization."

"He mentioned right. I'm pulling my fleet, yours, and the Third together for a massed assault on the Crandolian Home System. There are two planets in the system that sustain life and the smaller one is where they house their military power."

"One two punch?"

"More like a knife to the throat." Nelson replied with a grin. "With any luck, we can force a treaty."

"What about Jacobs and Senth Site?" Torcille asked, "They started their assault only weeks ago."

"They're making slow progress but that's expected... we won't be moving until _after_ Senth is under our control. Once we get a treaty signed, we own that Site and we end another war."

"What of _The Void_?"

"She's been unseen for over a year... she might be waiting for us, she might not."

"And... _him_?"

"Haven't seen him since we kicked the Crandos off of the Aurek Jumping Point again two years ago."

"Noted... very well sir, I'll get my fleet assembled piece by piece while keeping up the regular patrols."

"Good, I'll be heading to Aurek soon to oversee everything and meet whoever is elected tomorrow."

"I'll see you then, Ed."

"Likewise. Stay safe Golt. Nelson out."

* * *

Nelson cut the channel before looking up at and out of the main viewport. The entire First Fleet, known mostly as the Victory Fleet by the general population, was floating around his flagship lazily while the debris from the counter attack they had just beaten back swirled around them.

His fleet was holding position on a hyperspace lane inside of Crandolian Space doing their best to cut off a supply line that had been feeding the freshly broken Siege of Desh. The war had been wearing on both sides since the official start at Forn 3 years ago but as of late, it seemed like the Crandolian Empire was running out of steam first due to their overly aggressive tactics during the opening act of the conflict.

Not only had the failed blitzkrieg united the two largest rivals of the Crandos, their invasions of worlds that didn't have interplanetary governments created a river of refugees and veterans wanting to get back at the bastards who burned their homeworlds.

One of which, was the newest weapons officer on the _Kindred Spirit_ a young woman named Jessica Bindee who replaced Lieutenant Calxindi when he was crippled too badly to continue his military career.

"Joshua, go ahead and upload command codes to RAS _Vengeful Orphan_, Captain Heisen will be taking command while we're at Aurek. He's to hold this quadrant unless it'll cost him the entire fleet to do so."

"Message has been received, Heisen has appointed RAS _Vigilante_ as the next in line should the worst happen."

"Fitting... alright, get us ready to jump and start us back towards Aurek to meet our new Chancellor."

"Any idea who was elected, sir?" Joshua asked with a slightly amused tone.

* * *

"Senator Tinto, this is quite a surprise... you're not supposed to come in until tomorrow during the announcement ceremony." General Boyef said as the significantly younger man walked into the Senate Council Office.

"I know, just thought I'd come in to see how everyone was holding up with everything that's been going on." Tinto replied. "And wanting to make sure that everything is done and done."

"Done as it can be, sir. Ballets have been triple counted by at least ten different AIs and the results are clear; you're going to need a new set of robes."

"Right, everyone but me can see them." Tinto quipped back with a grin causing both men to chuckle. Ever since the annexation, Boyef had been doing his best to get on the good side of the Eclipse as to set an example for the rest of his people to follow. In the process, he became fast friends with the Miraluka senator that was largely responsible for Lumaria surviving the war.

"I hope the Senate appreciates your sense of humor when you're on the main podium."

"I hope they appreciate my views on how to make this war a long-term victory."

"They wouldn't have voted for you if they didn't."

"Amen to that, General. Amen to that."

* * *

"Open fire! Buggers in the open!" Uyon bellowed as he fired off rounds as fast as he could. An entire company of Crandolian soldiers were falling back on open ground towards another fixed gun emplacement. Half of them were downed before they reached the small trench and the rest went flying when a concussion missile hit the gun they were reinforcing.

Uyon's platoon cheered when the fighter that fired that missile, an ARC-190, passed by overhead. To the sides of them, other platoons surged forward and a Canderous unit charged past all of them straight into and through the trench wall guns blazing.

"Uyon to General Park."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"Grid 271 is clear, second wave is clear to come ashore."

"Copy that, 250 through 290 are clear as well, hold position and wait for the second wave to continue the push and they're bringing a present for you and your boys with them too."

"Heavier tanks?" the lieutenant asked.

"More like human tanks, LT. Centurion Company D is on their way."


	36. Chapter 34

The _Kindred Spirit_ exited hyperspace at the edge of Aurek's gravity well, reorienting so that the top of the ship was parallel with the north pole of the planet before starting the sublight engines and heading towards the priority docking stations.

Nelson smiled as he looked out from his seat on the bridge at the sight that was the Capitol in all of its glory. The huge planet, now fully populated and actually needing to expand its cities thanks to the influx of non-Republic refugees, the miniature galaxy of small artificial stars that he knew to just be engines, docking and warning lights, and since they were on the dark side of the planet, the lights of the cities on the surface.

"I had almost forgotten what a perfectly safe planet looked like at full blast..." Hannah mused quietly next to him. "It's nice to see home."

"You got that right..." Nelson replied with a smile.

"And now that is has a Chancellor?"

"I'm just glad that I'm no longer in charge of the whole show... you know how I get when they tell me to start looking at tax charts instead of troop movement readouts..."

"Cranky and you toss in your sleep too much. These past few day have been the first ones in months that you managed to not wake me up." she quipped back.

"And you haven't sleep completely peacefully since the honeymoon." Nelson retorted back with a smirk. One year after Forn during a small raid on a Crandolian outpost in an asteroid belt, the two officers had both been trapped on a gunship that had been disabled. Nelson had made a promise to marry her if they made it out of the situation alive, and while it was no where near as dire as the First Abyssal Incident, the severity of having to fight through a mile of enemy territory with only 30 minutes of air was enough to make the Admiral show his hand and finally move on four years worth of romantic tension.

"It's hard to get used to a bed on a ship after spending a month on the beaches of Besh, Ed."

"You're just upset that I didn't swap that mattresses when we got back." he replied with a chuckle.

"Sorry for the interruption, sirs, but we have incoming radio traffic. Mostly police reports and a news broadcast about a riot on Besh..." Joshua interrupted, "And the new Chancellor is former Senator Tinto."

"Kyle? One of my ex-apprentices is the newest Chancellor of the Republic?" Hannah said, disbelief and respect creeping into her tone.

"That he is, sworn in three days ago while we were in transit... Tinto requested that I save the news for his former Master until she was within the gravity well." the AI added.

"Well... to be honest, I'm not too surprised." Nelson replied, "He had most of the Lumarian planets wrapped around his finger thanks to his work with Operation: Savior and the only other candidate that they would have voted for was Senator Tilsef... and as soon as the recordings of him voting against the military alliance made it to the public they turned quickly."

"As in former Admiral Tilsef of the Lumarian Navy?"

"The one that called you a cripple before you sent him flying into a bulkhead with your grandfather's cane, yes sir." Joshua replied with a smirk that was matched by both commanding officers as the _Kindred Spirit_ continued towards the Capitol.

* * *

"Can someone give me an update, please?" Tinto asked as he finished getting on one of his newer robes having just woken up. It was a dark crimson color that was common in the higher offices of the Eclipse given their original name as well as being able to easily conceal weapons and armor underneath.

Tinto however, never needed to hide his saber as he had rejoined the Order of Republic Knights at the request of High General Nelson and it actually helped him seem more sympathetic to the general population. Nelson had been right in making the Order of Knights a military only branch of government and because of that, the problems that the Old Republic had been subject to with the Jedi Order appearing to lofty and out of touch with the rest of the galaxy.

News clips showing them as an elite force in the army, dying like regular grunts and not being treated specially had stopped a caste rift from being created. The police forces were headed by normal citizens and former military with the court system replacing the 'comprehensive judgment' that the Jedi thought they had.

"The _Kindred Spirit_ docked five minutes ago and Senth is still under siege. Park is estimating three months while Jacobs is estimating four." a nearby protocol droid replied.

"Still better than the year that my former military advisor estimated... how about the riot on Besh?"

"Sources are pointing at a former Lumarian Terrorist that dropped off the grid back before the War... Dr. Yeval Vorla, chemist and was responsible for that attempted bombing that MilIntel pinned on the Black Moon."

"Was he arrested?"

"He escaped again and dropped off the grid... again..."

"Inform MilIntel that the good doctor is back in action... step up security on Besh and have MI do what they can without declaring marshal law or needing me to propose a new act or policy." Tinto replied with a sigh. "ETA on my favorite Grand Admiral?"

"He'll be here within the hour and the ceremony is scheduled to take place in four."

"Perfect; close my files down and alert one of my sparring partners to meet me in the gymnasium." the Chancellor replied with a small grin as he walked out of his room and waved his hand to lock it behind him.

* * *

"Fable, move us forward two miles so that we can get a proper visual on the beach without relying on the ground teams." General Park ordered.

"Enemy AAA is still partially active and artillery positions haven't been completely accounted for." the tactical AI replied. At once, the _Redemption_ moved forward slowly, her port side facing the beachhead that had finally been secured. Underneath them, more assault tanks and APCs, now supporting a wave of low flying LAAT/im gunships, sped off towards the coastline.

Almost as if to prove a point, a plasma round detonated on the shields of the _Redemption_ harmlessly and Fable decided to hold his tongue despite General Park smirking back at him when it happened.

"How is Lieutenant Het-Dai doing?"

"Their special prisoner is already giving up troop numbers and contingency plans... we had quite a lucky break."

"Tell him to get their prisoner on board and in a solitary confinement cell... interrogation is authorized."

* * *

Uyon watched as the men and women of Centurion Company D literally walked through the enemy lines. The 9 foot tall cyborgs continued moving up in pairs as plasma bounced off of their shields the few times that the buggers managed to hit them. Each one continually hit their marks whenever they elected to fire their arm cannons as opposed to the favored tactic of getting into the trenches and killing everything in sight in brutal hand to hand combat.

"Magnificent..." he said, watching from his concealed position as the company of 100 men and women waded through Crandolian bodies. Each one was a near perfect copy of Chris-Z9571 who they simply referred to affectionately as Centurion-0 or 'Papa Chris.' The arm cannon was a upgraded version that Chris had installed on himself as well and the armor was the best that the combined military research of all the worlds under the Republic flag could create, making it just as rare as the Centurions. Out of a military numbering in the billions of sentients and droids, only 5,001 Centurions were active.

"Lieutenant." a cold synthetic voice said causing Uyon to spin around quickly. Behind him was a droid commander in a standard aquatic camo paint job. Uyon steadied himself quickly before reaching his hand out. In his palm, an holographic overview of the immediate area came to life courtesy of the droid's eyes.

"Enemy forces are in full retreat across the beachhead. Artillery is 96% disabled and AAA has been completely neutralized."

"And the _Redemption_?"

"Operating as the carrier for this part of the assault. I also have redeployment orders; Platoon 507 of Company A is being reassigned to you."

"That's 80 men all under my command..."

"87 and 32 Droids, Lieutenant. General Park authorized the transfer given your exceedingly pristine command record."

"Right under 100 men. Sithspit... alright, get them over at the rendezvous point that my platoon is heading to and then send in an urgent request for more ammunition, my boys had to burn thought quite a bit of it."

"Roger roger."

* * *

Dr. Vorla landed hard after a leap off of a low bridge before he sprinted and rolled into the nearest sewer hatch. The police had upped the frequency of their patrols and getting spotted while attempting to get off planet was possibly the worst thing that could happen.

Well, besides the Lumarian government betraying their people.

_"Appeasing bastards... we are a free people, not Eclipse slaves..."_ he thought as he walked through the sludge. If there was anything that he had as an advantage, it was the vast number of miniature safe houses he and his followers had constructed before inciting the riots.

Slowly and carefully, he made his way down a slick ladder before tapping a small indention on the sewer wall. A scanner worked over his face and confirmed his identity (though there was no flashy light show to say that this was happening) before opening a narrow doorway which he entered, closed, and locked tight with extreme haste.

Inside the accommodations were bare bones, "Rather Mandalorian" as natives of the Republic would say, while Lumarians were more likely to say "Total crap".

"Statement: Welcome back Agent 001." the automated systems stated quietly when Vorla put his personal datapad into the small computer unit.

"Put all the active cells onto my datapad please, upload all essential files and then clear your system."

"Query: Closing up shop?"

"Just clearing up the data... send a signal to anyone still loyal to clear all data and to keep it on detonation pads... nothing gets into enemy hands."

"Query: And after everything goes mobile?" the computer asked.

"We do our duty... we restore the Lumarian Republic. We _free_ our worlds."

* * *

"Chancellor if you could take enough time off from beating the ever loving Force out of your sparring partner, I think you have some special guests here for a ceremony." Admiral Nelson said with a smirk. Hannah was close behind him with a similar look on her face as Tinto quickly finished the duel and turned to face them.

"Field Marshall and Grand Admiral Nelson, lovely to see you two made it back in one piece. I take it things along Supply Line CE-92 are going swimmingly?"

"Just about as well as things are here with your election, Kyle." Ed replied with a small but respectful bow.

"Good to hear... Jacobs is making progress, any word on Mendez though?"

"He's breaking in his new command exceedingly well." Hannah stated, "A natural born fleet commander."

"Well he is going on 200 even without the cryofreeze messing with his age, that leaves plenty of time to get experience." Tinto quipped with a small smirk. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"Wouldn't dream of it sir." Ed replied before looking back, "They're waiting for us, I believe..."

"Transfer of powers... remind me why we have to do a ceremony for this?" Hannah asked.

"The people need something happy and upbeat... this ceremony is a chance to provide that... and provide the press with pictures of a certain married couple for the first time since they got back from Besh." Tinto retorted with a wide grin.

"If you were still my student..."

"I'd be moping the floor of a meditation chamber; now then, everyone get dressed in what you need and I'll meet you at the ready area in 30 minutes. We have a celebration to hold."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Today we bring forth in celebration your new Chancellor!" the master of ceremonies bellowed, "We bring forward the man that will lead us to victory on the home front and the officers that shall give us victory against the Imperial Menace!"

Behind the curtain behind him, Chancellor Tinto and the Nelsons both waited patiently as he orated on and on about the victory that was only 'months away'.

"He must not read your monthly reports..." Hannah whispered to her husband, causing him to chuckle slightly.

"I'm more worried about whether or not he'll say what species I am correctly." Tinto added.

"Just as long as he gets over with his speech business before I fall asleep standing." Ed replied before getting a thumbs up from the stage hand in front of them.

_"Here we go..."_ they all thought before the curtain opened, and they stepped into the light.

* * *

"Gordon... come in Gordon."

"Go ahead, Koldo."

"I have a visual on the targets, they're on the balcony."

"Be ready to take the shot on my signal... I'll move in for the kill once the Chancellor is down."

"For the glory of the Republic." Koldo muttered into his com unit.

"Freedom or death." Gordon replied as he pulled his blade out of the gut of the stage hand that had just closed the curtain behind the targets. "Freedom or **death**."


	37. Chapter 35

The attack was sudden, violent, and nearly ripped the small balcony off of it's rigging as multiple sniper bolts landed around Chancellor Tinto, Field Marshall, and Grand Admiral Nelson. They would have hit each one of them somewhere on the chest had it not been for the barrier that Tinto had effortlessly put up to shield them the moment he felt a disturbance.

The assassin with the blade that popped out from the curtain swiftly lost his head when Nelson out of instinct let loose a punch and didn't hold back. The sickening crack of his neck being shattered and then severed in one swift motion was heard throughout the crowd courtesy of the microphones that hadn't been shut off yet.

The last thing the assassin saw was Nelson's scared face scowling at him.

* * *

"Shit!" the sniper barked as he backed off, ditching the rifle and running as he heard the familiar buzz of a Republic Gunship closing in. He started to panic slightly when that buzz was joined by many others. It was a worst case scenario really, each LAAT/i would be carrying a minimum of 5 heavily armed and armored Capitol Marines and could easily outrun the man if he didn't make it to the speeder he had hidden in time.

A shadow passed over him before an explosion rang out half a football field away.

_"They got my ride..."_ he thought grimly, stopping in his tracks and pulling out his weapons of choice from his hips. Seconds later, he could _feel _the boots of the soldiers hitting the rooftop around him. These must be those power armored soldiers he had heard so much about from the Doctor.

30 marines, 10 of them in powered armor, surrounded the sniper with rifles, pistols, and even a heavy repeater raised.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air or we will terminate you." a flat, electronically filtered voice barked out.

"You won't castrate me like you did my people you bastards!" Koldo spat back before activating the lightsaber hilts in his hand. Each blade was a dark violet, the original colors of the Lumarian Republic before they agreed to be annexed.

**"Lumaria shall be free!"**

He charged the nearest soldier as they all opened up. He silently thanked Vorla for the cranial stim-pack he installed before they were sent to Aurek. It helped him ignore the three blaster bolts that impacted him in the back before he got within lightsaber range of his target; one of those power armor bastards.

Before he could swing, the lead man in armor, nearly 8 feet in height thanks to what he was wearing, grabbed the man's arm and ripped it off. As the second saber swung at his arm, his fist made contact with the terrorists face, turning his head into mush before the body even hit the ground.

"Clear." the leader said, wiping the red off of his shoulder insignia. "Everyone back on your transports; Echo team you have cleanup duty of this dirtbag."

"Aye, sir." one of the marines in regular armor replied as Gunnery Sergeant Jones turned back towards his gunship and lumbered forward. The humanoid gave a grin as he sent the data gathered from this short field test back to the boys in R&D, replaying the events that had just transpired on his HUD just to make sure that he really had managed to pull that off.

"You alright, Sarge?" one of his squad asked, to which Jones gave a nod in reply as the LAAT/i began to climb again.

"Fine, just getting used to the armor."

"Serial Number 1?"

"Damn right it is."

* * *

"You have _got _to be kidding me." Jacobs murmured as he leaned back in his command chair.

"No joke, Lumarian 'freedom' fighters tried to take out the Nelsons and our new Chancellor." Torcille replied. "Needless to say it failed spectacularly."

"More of Vorla's men again or was this some other terror cell?"

"More of Vorla's boys. Methinks he's gotten all the other 'liberation' cells to answer to him, but that's just a rough guess."

"Well... at least it means if we take him out they lose their momentum... though is there another reason you called in?"

"Just getting a status update given your current role with how this war will turn out."

"Please don't remind me, Golt." Jacobs quipped with a grin. "Else I might be tempted to draw this out so my men get more 'honor' than Nelson's kiddos."

"Very funny, Howard, very funny." Torcille groaned, matching his old friend's grin. "I guess it's still going slow?"

"Unbearably so. I've had to fight off three bugger fleets coming to try and reinforce their boys on the ground since the _Redemption _began atmospheric operations... Park is pressing though. Would you believe his troops had to assault an actual beach in order to get a foothold?"

"Something like that hasn't been done since the Battle of Kashyyyk back during the Clone Wars... damn, shield generators?"

"Powerful ones."

"Damn... well, best of luck burc'ya." Torcille replied, giving his fellow admiral a respectful nod.

"Have fun wait-"

"Admiral, enemy contacts inbound again."

"Have fun waiting, Torcille, I have business to attend to. Jacobs out." he finished, cutting the feed and bringing up the tactical data on the main screen.

"Move us up to intercept and hold the corvettes back far enough to intercept gunships, transports, or anything else that could bring in support for the buggers." Jacobs ordered, "Get Green Squadron up front as well, I want them to double their kill marks by the end of the day."

* * *

A lone gunship flew over the Senth battlefield, unseen and casting no shadow courtesy of the stealth panels that Special Operations Transports all had. Inside, Lieutenant Het-Dai, his team, and dozen Crandolian prisoners stood or sat patiently as they got closer to the _Redemption_.

"If you're going to kill us at least do us the courtesy of shooting us in the head before dumping us out the sid-ow!" the Governor said before a rifle butt impacted the side of his face. Het-Dai turned to face him, his unforgiving black visor 'staring' the semi-insectoid official down.

"If our mission was to kill you, we would not be having this conversation... now shut up, or I'll have someone hit you hard enough to knock you out." the young officer growled. The Governor shut up quickly at that before 4 hit him on the back of the head with her rifle stock, knocking him out and flat on his face.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." she said, her playful tone betraying the lack of remorse in her apology.

"Eh, you know how it is..." Jeral replied, his tone equally informal, "Shut them up or shut'em off."

* * *

"Alright boys and girls, we're moving into town and then moving right past it straight to the next." Uyon stated, "Our target, courtesy of General Park himself, is to reach a power plant and secure it. Once the the rest of the division moves up with us, it'll be the epicenter of our forward ground base... needless to say, we need to get this right."

"Any armor moving up with us?" a private asked.

"Fire team leaders and myself all have target designator codes uploaded to their HUDs, we'll have air cover the entire way relying on us for strike zones and targets... uploading navigation ping to your radars... sync up mission clocks... Now. Alright, let's move!" he barked, looking at his men before turning around and starting forward down the road. Behind him, 87 men and 32 droids of various class moved in behind and around him as they left the curve of the road and started through the forest, guns training on anywhere a sniper or machine gun nest might be hiding.

A destroyer droid Mk. III proved that their fears were well rooted as a plasma bolt melted one of its armor panels before the sniper who took the shot was zeroed in on and fired upon.

"Target down, most likely a civilian." a sergeant reported.

"What makes you so sure?" one of the droids asked.

"No sniper worth their weight in credits would dare set up shop in a damn tree."

* * *

"All units break formation and fire at will. Reform in ten minutes unless ordered otherwise. Go!" Jacobs barked as the _Iron Will _banked to the side and unleashed a devastating broadside barrage. Ion blasts, turbolaser bolts, concussions missiles, and mass driver shells all arched towards the Crandolian fleet, causing a dozen dropships and a trio of frigates to detonate before the rest of the Fifth Fleet scattered and engaged freely.

Explosions ripped silently through the space around Senth Site's southeastern hemisphere as frigates, cruiser, battleships, and even carriers moved into close range to engage their counterparts in either fleet.

Usually this was frowned upon as a tactic as targeting computers could get an accurate firing solution from nearly a light-year away, but the Fifth Fleet and the admiral in charge of it preferred to have his ships move as close as possible as to maximize damage output as well as making it difficult for enemy bombers to sneak in a crippling blow without the threat of being vaporized by friendly flak.

Jacobs was the only admiral who was able to successfully work the Close Combat Doctrine without exceedingly high losses and thus, was rather feared throughout the galaxy as someone you really didn't want to fight. Even Nelson preferred not to stand in his way when Jacobs was given an assignment; while Nelson's troops and ships had a reputation for being the best, Jacobs' had a reputation of not dying when they were supposed to.

That reputation extended to the ships of the Fifth Fleet courtesy of their heavier than standard armor. While the rest of the fleets relied on fighter superiority mixed with capital ship presence to secure orbit, The Fifth relied mostly on their big ships to get the job done. What few squadrons were active in orbit were veterans of the Lumarian War and Green had fought at Xesh; the rest only had experience from the Crandolian War and were busy keeping the boots on the ground from having to shoot into the sky.

"Shields down." Horizon announced.

"Let them eat durasteel plating." Jacobs replied with a feral grin. "Now it's a real fight! All ahead full and increase firepower!"

"Aye sir!" the helmsman and weapons officer called back together. Everyone aboard felt the _Iron Will _surge forward as missiles detonated and plasma dissipated almost harmlessly off her heavy armor. Everyone aboard felt tremors surge through the ship with each impact before a shockwave of an enemy capital ship detonating rocked the Eclipse flagship violently.

"Shield status?"

"Charging up, 60 percent, want me to deploy?" Horizon said.

"Wait for full charge before activating again. Weapons, buy us as much time as you can." Jacobs ordered.

"Aye, Admiral." the man at the weapons stationed replied. Moment later, a flurry of fire burst from the forward guns straight at a Crandolian battleship, causing her shields to flare violently, but still hold.

"Mass drivers on target, EMP shells are loaded." Horizon announced.

"Firing!" the weapons station chimed as he hit the command signal and the gunnery crews answered with lethal speed. Trails of dark orange screamed toward _Iron Will_'s target and bypassed her shields, impacting the hull armor and in many cases, penetrating through armor, hull, and decks.

"Direct hit, teams are reloading."

"Bring us up next to her so that we can get a good broadside in, have the front weapons target that frigate behind her." Jacobs ordered once more before a squadron of heavily modified TIE Interceptors and X-Wings with green decals and fleet emblems flew past and banked into an enemy formation of bombers heading straight towards Jacob's ship.

* * *

Green Squadron banked into the bomber flight heading for the _Iron Will _lasers firing with deadly accuracy as Crandolian bombers detonated into clouds of plasma and debris. Those that made it through the head on attack were picked off by point defense guns on the Keldabe they were targeting with only one managing to get off a plasma missile that detonated harmlessly on the armor before a laser burst impacted the cockpit.

"Target the nearest carrier." the squadron leader barked, pulling his Interceptor 'up' towards the familiar bloated form of a Crandolian Heavy Carrier that was already trailing smoke.

Perfect target.

* * *

"I don't care what you think the limitations of your men are, you keep scouring the systems until you find it." Abyss growled at an admiral bowing in front of him.

"Of course, majesty." the man in front of him whimpered as he backed out the main doors, holding the bow the entire time.

"They've been scouting for months." Ilea finally commented once it was just her, Abyss, and the guards in the throne room. "Are you sure the drift calculations are correct?"

"Admiral Yujklov did the calculations himself..." Abyss murmured, his tone rather bored given the subject matter, "If he's looking in the wrong systems, then that's his problem and he'll pay for it."

"I'm surprised you haven't killed him by now to be honest."

"Only if he doesn't find it within another month or two... or if he finds The Cipher and damages it. If he does that I'll be killing his entire family and _then _him."

"I just hope they find it before you need it."

"He has a month before the Eclipse launches its final assault right into the trap."

"May I still go on record as not being all too happy that you're trap could cost us Crandolia?"

"You can protest all you want but it won't change my decision or its tactical necessity."

"And all because of dumb luck." Ilea groaned. "How _is _our favorite enemy doing anyway?"

"Nelson and his mate are growing stronger by the day and with any luck they'll be Class D by the time we use the Cipher."

"That's not a lot to use, Abyss."

"It'll be enough, Ilea... it will be enough."

* * *

"Are you alright, sir?" a protocol droid asked Chancellor Tinto before being waved away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Someone get me the soldier in charge of the counter strike and footage of how the _hell _two assassins were able to put my best commanders in danger." he ordered, his tone surprisingly clam yet with an underlying sternness that made even Ed do a mental double-take and barely notice one of the orderlies let out a frantic 'yes sir!'

"We're perfectly fine, Kyle." Hannah said once the room was clear, or at least as clear as it could get with the extra guards now lining the walls and doorways.

"Yes you are, you both always are. The only issue is that you two seem to always attract trouble and I'd rather not have the entire war effort brought to a screeching halt because the Supreme Commander of the Navy or Army got a blade between the ribs."

"Or a lightsaber to the neck." Nelson replied with a smirk before Hannah nudged him in the ribs.

"Keep up the jokes for too long and that might be my lightsaber, Admiral." Tinto quipped, matching his smirk before the holotable in the middle of his office exploded and he was flung out the main window behind him.


	38. Chapter 36

Silence. That's what he heard besides the ringing in his ears. Silence. He felt the rush of air nipping at him as he continued his journey towards the ground.

_"Smart bastards snuck in a bomb."_Tinto thought as he broke out of his daze. He brought his saber up and activated the red blade before sinking it into the side of the building. He continued down for a few meters before finally starting to slow, though it took him nearly a full minute to slow down enough for him to use the vibroblades hidden in his boots to try and slow down as well.

He managed to slow to a halt about a meter off of the street below, jumping down and dusting off his robes as nonchalantly as possible before starting towards the nearest entrance despite the MPs running towards him to no doubt ask him repeatedly if he was fine.

_"Minus the scar I can feel on my face... no fractures, no burns thank the Force... just a nasty gash. Nelson won't let me hear the end of it."_

* * *

"Did he make it?" Hannah asked as she took a break from making sure all of the security forces inside New Keldabe were mobilized and ready.

"Yeah, he made it to the ground in one piece... should be up here as soon as a turbolift can get him up." Nelson replied, finally pulling his head inside the blown out office and finally pressing the button to activate the blast covers. "I want to know how they got a bomb inside of here though."

"Probably got it in while we were busy fighting off the other assassins. Either way, all three of us are still breathing." Hannah quipped, scowling slightly at some tidbit of security information.

"Security is already screening the building?"

"And I'm already having every civilian here being escorted off the premises. If there are more threats around, we're going to find them."

* * *

Uyon ducked to the side as plasma arced towards him. He dived behind a permacrete wall as enemy fire sliced through the air where he was moments before and impacted the shields of a Droideka. The droid promptly returned fire, slagging the permacrete window opening as well as the Crando who fired out of it. For the past 10 minutes Uyon and his men had been fighting for every inch they could get in this power plant facility, bombarded walls, ruined outbuildings, everything was an ambush site or a prime place to put a booby trap.

Ten of his men and two of the droids were already dead or wounded courtesy of Crando grenade traps with another 6 wounded and holding up the rear as best they could.

"Come on boys press forward!" Uyon bellowed before a grenade landed next to him. He ran for his life as it detonated, some of the plasma inside coating his right left arm as plasma rounds from the bugger that threw the grenade impacted his left shoulder and sent him to the ground. "Son of a bitch!"

"Lieutenant!" one of the Corpsman in their group yelled, sprinting over as she did her best not to get hit.

"God _damnit_!"

"Just hold still and let me treat you, sir." she told him, peeling away what was left of his shoulder pauldron and then getting to work on cutting off the pieces that had fused to his skin.

"Get First Sergeant Grugth up here and make the men push forward until you get thi-gah!" Uyon growled as the corpsman jammed a needle in his arm and put her surgical to work. He only felt the cold plasteel blade for a moment before the anesthetic took effect. "Warning next time. Warning!"

"With respect sir, please quit bitching while I patch you up." she snipped back, continuing with her work as the incoming fire began to slacken. While he continued to get part of his armor cut off of him, he brought up the helmet cam of one of his sergeants to take a look and smiled a little when he saw significantly more bugger corpses on the ground in front of the main complex and the familiar contrail of a LAAT/i that had just passed by out of his visual range.

"LT, we got a foothold in the main entrance. We're going to start sweeping inside while the droids patrol the immediate perimeter." Grugth's voice said through the internal helmet speakers.

"Copy that sarge, get moving and I'll meet up as soon as Corpsman Ramsy is done cutting my arm off."

"Aye aye, sir."

* * *

"General, we have a yellow light at the Prospective Ground CP." Fable announced. "Looks like they've almost secured the facility and Uyon is WIA at the moment."

"And the main force?"

"One mile behind them while Centurion Company D is about to meet up with the second lieutenant's force to help them secure and clear the power plant."

"Very well then. Have 12th Squadron peel off and secure the area and get the _MP_go ahead and land for Phase 2 troop deployment." General Park replied.

"And the _Redemption_?" Fable asked.

"Have her hold position above the _MP_once she's landed and rotate us 90 degrees left. I want the forward hangar to be facing they way that the flank is moving."

"Aye si- message from Admiral Jacobs."

"On screen." Park told him, looking over from the holotable as the familiar face of Admiral Jacobs appeared.

"General, please tell me things are speeding up."

"Securing our ground command post as we speak and hopefully we'll be able to infiltrate their intelligence networks to shut down the necessary segments of the planetary shield."

"Try and speed things up if you can, this is turning into the Defense of the Syclin Rim all over again."

"Didn't that last for five months, sir?"

"Six and it wasn't fun. Get it done, General." Jacobs replied before the feed cut and Park let out a sigh. Navy officers never seemed to remember just how hard a ground campaign was despite how many marines had their boots on the ground.

* * *

"Target locked sir, firing." Tom announced as a beam of pure energy shot from the forward prongs of the _Grey Ghost_. They were minutes from jumping towards the nearest world with a Transition Gateway for the fleet mobilization when a Crando battle group decided to arrive in force.

"Guns, bring point defense weapons to bear on that bomber group coming towards us. ETA on fighter support?"

"The Black Eyes just finished disabling a heavy destroyer and are en route, five minutes at max."

"Good..." Mendez replied, looking over the tactical overlay being flashed across his glasses. "All ships focus on the bigger ships and work your way down, swat anything aside that gets in your way. Helm, all ahead full to engage the carrier ahead."

"Three escort frigates in our way sir." Ops stated.

"Guns?"

"Commencing Swatting Maneuver." the weapons officer replied as turbolaser fire and proton torpedoes arced towards the smaller vessels. Two of them were knocked out of the way, internal explosions ripping them apart from the inside while the third one met its end as it was split in half as the _Grey Ghost_rammed it.

"Nice call, smartass." Mendez deadpanned as the shield rippled and reconstituted themselves. "Tom, move us into position."

"Dorsal thrusters firing."

* * *

"I swear to Revan if there is another bomb somewhere anywhere near me, I'm going to Force choke a gizka." Nelson growled as he stepped onto the LAAT/m. It was a similar design to the LAAT/i, only with full shielding, a bigger carrying capacity, and improved weapons.

Well, if that's what you called the smallest Mass Drivers the Eclipse could create in place of the top mounted missile launchers that could puncture the unshielded hull of a Crandolian Frigate.

"Swear to Revan?" Hannah asked, stepping on board with him.

"You don't know who he is?"

"I know who he is, I've just never heard someone swear by him."

"Beats swearing by Malak."

"True... Next plan of action?"

"We're heading back to the First Fleet after the _Spirit_ flies by the _Republic_." Nelson replied as the gunship lifted off from the airfield.

"She's finished?"

"All 29 kilometers. She'll be joining us for the assault on the Crando homeworld once Senth is secured and her trials are finished."

"Torcille gets command, right?" Hannah asked, getting a knowing grin and a small chuckle from her husband, bracing a little as their ride began to leave the atmosphere.

"Do you have any idea how much hell I got from him when we delayed the schedule to make the ship bigger? If he didn't get command of that ship, Jacobs would kick my ass for him."

"Point taken... can't wait to see how the AI in a ship that big acts though. First ship of its size."

"That's why it has three."

* * *

"Almost within visual range, Admiral, slowing to one fourth slow."

"Go ahead and get me a connection with her AIs, Joshua."

"We are here, sir." a trio of voices replied at the same time. Three avatars appeared on the holotable behind him next to a representation of the RSSD _Republic_.

The first AI, Alpha, had chosen the avatar of a Jedi Knight of the Old Republic and had the temperament to match. She was in charge of shields, engines, life support, and all other defensive and support systems.

The second AI, Omega, had decided to make his avatar match that of a Sith Warrior from the times of the Jedi Civil War and acted as such. He was in charge of weapons all throughout the ship ranging from internal defense turrets all the way up to the HBC turrets all along the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the massive warship.

The third AI on the other hand, was an interesting thing to be seen. His chosen form and name was of the famous Jedi that Nelson had sworn by earlier; Darth Revan. He was the balance between the other two AIs and in times of emergency, they would converge their programming and give him total command.

"And I'm ready to try out my guns already!" Omega barked.

"I'm more worried about us being able to move first..." Revan replied calmly. Alpha simply nodded in reply to her 'brother' before looking up at Nelson.

"We're ready for the viewing, sir." she stated, gesturing towards the main viewport as Joshua depolarized the main viewscreen. Nelson looked out and stifled his outwards reaction despite mentally letting out a low whistle when he finally saw the ship he had read so much about.

The RSSD _Republic_was 29 kilometers of space black hull with weapons bristling all over it. With a crew of 1 million mixed sentients and droids and enough hangar capacity for every fighter squadron in the First Fleet and five cruiser-class capital ships, she would be the pinnacle of Republic power projection in whichever system she entered.

"Magnificent..." Nelson murmured as the _Kindred Spirit_ moved along the _Republic_'s hull. Dockworkers in powersuits, construction droids, and scaffolding still littered her hull and were visible from the bridge of Ed's ship, but it was still an amazing sight to see.

"Joshua, send an external camera feed directly to Torcille's bridge once she's mobile, please. Revan, is she ready?"

"Say the word and we'll begin the trials."

"Consider the word said."

* * *

"All hands prepare to cast off!" Captain Duylio barked. He was only XO while Torcille was aboard the _Gangster's Gamble_ but it was still his duty to get the biggest ship in the Eclipse Fleet out of drydock and floating towards victory. It had been nearly an hour since Grand Admiral Nelson had given the order to move, but all the construction equipment was finally disconnected and all related personnel were at a safe distance, leaving the RSSD _Republic_ready to get moving for the first time since the transition of her hollow hull to and from Forn Site.

"All stations showing green, maneuvering thrusters are firing appropriately."

"All AIs check in."

"Alpha, ready for transition."

"Omega, weapons regrettably at zero percent charge."

"Revan, checking in; all systems are stable."

"Helm, take us out." Duylio ordered once the three avatars appeared on the holobanks in front of the command chairs. Unlike most ships, their were two command chairs, one facing forward for the ranking officer, and another one right behind it facing towards the holotable for the XO.

Everyone aboard felt a shudder as the ship gained momentum at a snails pace. While most ships in hard vacuum didn't take much energy to get moving quickly, the sheer size of the _Republic_made moving from a complete stop an arduous task. Mile by mile, she continued forward and 'up' in relativity of Aurek's north pole.

"Engine cores A through G holding steady at 50%; H, I, and J are elevating steadily to 75. Emergency cores are holding at zero."

"Hyperdrive and our jump computers?"

"Spinning up to half power." Revan announced.

"Waiting for your command as to location." the Chief Navigation officer replied. Due to her size, the sheer amount of engine power and three AIs wasn't the only thing that was expanded. Each station had five officers underneath a chief officer, usually a Naval Commander or Army Major depending on the station save Engineering, which had ten.

"Anything from Grand Admiral Nelson?"

"We're joining the First Fleet for our shakedown." Alpha replied. "Just inside Crandolian Space near a star; CS-198."

"Punch in the coordinates and get us moving then. Final station report!"

"Navigation green."

"Weapons holding at zero."

"Shields up at maximum."

"Engines holding steady in the green."

"Communications checking in green."

"Air Control reports all squadrons docked."

"And the XO is ready for launch." Duylio finished, taking a seat in the command chair. "Let's get her moving."

"Aye sir." Alpha replied as the the stars began to get brighter.

"Spinning up the jump drive." Revan stated, stars now slowly turning into lines.

"Ready to swat some flies!" Omega bellowed with a feral grin.

At 1750 hours on Aurex 15th, 5 NRC, the RSSD _Republic_ entered hyperspace for the first time. The third Super Capital of the Eclipse Republic Navy was mobile and fully operational.

* * *

"Admiral Torcille, incoming video from Grand Admiral Nelson."

"On screen." Torcille replied as he looked up from his personal datapad. His reaction was instant and ecstatic.

"What ship is _that_?" one of his bridge officers asked.

"That, lieutenant... is _**my ship.**_"


	39. Chapter 37

Aurex 16, 5 NRC

"You caused one hell of an uproar when the _Republic_ launched, Ed." Chancellor Tinto said.

"Good or bad, you know I can barely tell with we're doing audio only." Nelson replied as he continued to look over the fleet numbers. First Fleet had been engaged while the _Spirit_ was away at New Mandalore, and he was busy getting all the details while they were still over an hour out.

"Both, recruitment numbers skyrocketed while half the Senate is more pissed than an angry mynock's nest."

"And the other half?"

"Couldn't be happier that we have something to combat _The Void_ now, though a little annoyed that the construction schedule we gave them was falsified."

"Standard protocol for a project this big." Hannah interjected, "We didn't need informants giving the buggers a clean date of when it would be finished."

"Regardless, just get the First Fleet ready for an engagement." Tinto told them, "Consider this an executive order, but I'm moving up the fleet mobilization to ASAP and the location to Senth Site."

"Worried, Chancellor?"

"Considering we may have a Lumarian Rebellion springing up soon, you could say yes. I want this war with the Crandolians over as soon as possible, and that means a jumping point closer to their hive for the mobilization, this also means Mendez's Sixth Fleet will be replacing Jacobs' Fifth once Senth is secure... The War ends within three months of Senth Site falling, am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir. We'll get it done. Third Fleet is already en route to our position so that Torcille can take his new command, we'll reroute with them to Senth as soon as we clear the area." Nelson replied.

"Good man. Tinto, out."

* * *

"Numbers. Now." Lieutenant Het-Dai growled, striking the former Governor of Senth Site on the side of the head again. The Crando recoiled violently as much as his bindings would allow, despite the blow not being as strong as the Lieutenant could muster.

Probably still stung like a bitch, though.

"Most of our troops are stationed in the city... that was the last I heard before I was captured... that-gah!" he said before getting hit on the back of the head again.

"Numbers. Not locations."

"... damn... you..."

"Don't make me kill you and ask your badly disguised staff instead."

"... Fine... 20,000... that's the reserve waiting in the capitol..."

"Now isn't that better?" Jeral replied with a grin, "Someone patch him up and feed him, then make sure he has an extra pillow in his cell." he added as he walked out.

"He talked?" Fable asked over the com system once Het-Dai was out of the interrogation cell.

"You know full well that he did. General Park's comments?"

"He's crosschecking the data now with my help. Numbers are checking out though... looks like the capitol is going to be one tough shell to crack once we get within range."

"Something tells me I'll be sent in to take out their shield power supply..."

"We're prepping your gunship now, LT. I suggest you get something to eat with the rest of your platoon and suit up; you deploy in three hours."

"Any cover fire or are we relying on stealth again?"

"Diversionary bombardment from low orbit will begin when you give the signal... might I suggest you wait for the full briefing?" Fable asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"And miss the chance to look like I know everything in front of my team? Never."

* * *

"Sure you can fight with a sling, LT?"

"Save the sarcasm for any bugger that gets close enough for melee range, Private." Uyon retorted as he strolled through the power plant's main complex. Grugth had secured it a few minutes before Corpsman Ramsy managed to patch the lieutenant up. Over the past hour, the rest of the army and Centurion Company D managed to link up and started the transition of the simple power plant into a fully operational ground-based Command Post.

Needless to say, Uyon was glad that he and his men were getting relieved and moved to a rear medical outpost. He had lost 15 men and droids total, but their kill to casualty ratio was acceptable, even if he didn't feel that it was.

"Grugth, anyone got an idea when we make our way to the aid station?"

"Soon, sir. Lieutenant Indola is taking over for us in a few minutes."

"... great... _her_." Uyon groaned.

"At least we won't be participating in the final assault... too many wounded and a damaged CO means we're taking up police duty for the rest of the fi-... sir." Grugth said as his earbud chimed. "Message from Fable, you're still WIA so they told me first."

"Report."

"You need to see this for yourself..."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean they're running?" Jacobs asked, looking over the main screen again as the far superior numbers of the enemy fleet started breaking off and retreating with all possible haste.

"They're just retreating! Recon ships in low orbit are catching military vessels all leaving the surface as soon as they're loaded up... it's like the buggers are abandoning the planet." Ops replied. "We're not catching any intercepted coms, nothing about a mass retreat... they're just... running..."

"We scare them off?" Horizon asked.

"Doubtful... something's going on. Inform the Grand Admiral... this doesn't look right."

* * *

"You're kidding me." Hannah said, looking over to her husband as he processed what was being brought up all over the holonetworks as well as right in front of him. Originally he thought that the bugger fleet in front of him was retreating because of the _Republic_ entering the system, but when he started hearing these reports of a mass withdrawal on all fronts...

_"Unsettling..."_ he thought, rubbing his jaw as he looked out at the ever shrinking enemy fleet in front of his position.

"Someone tell the Chancellor and inform him that I'm moving up our schedule even more. Get Sixth and Third to Senth and start us towards there as well." Nelson ordered. "And someone got me some information as to why these bastards are all running!"

"Fleet is getting into formation. _Republic_ is wondering when she'll get the weapons shakedown though." Joshua replied.

"Tell Omega he gets to try out every gun he has at the Crandolian Homeworld."

"Revan and Duylio are expressing concerns, sir..."

"Noted, now get everyone moving and set up a call between me and all of my fleet commanders in the briefing room."

* * *

"Impossible." Mendez stated as he crossed his arms.

"My sentiments exactly, but it's happening all across every front that Crandolian forces are engaged with ours." Jacobs replied. "Full retreat, even on a planetary level. We must have captured almost 12,000 mixed military personnel during their withdrawal."

"Nothing left my end either, Admiral." Torcille added, "We haven't been engaged in almost a week... we did have contacts inbound but they stopped mid-jump and turned right around."

"Anyone get an accurate trajectory on their exit?" Nelson asked.

"I had Horizon go ahead and run the numbers on what intel we have, looks like they're all heading towards their core worlds... maybe getting ready to defend their homeworld?"

"That doesn't make much sense, Jacobs." Mendez replied, "Why waste ships counterattacking when you're just going to pull them all back at the same time? Tom's been running numbers too and nearly 2000 ships have been sighted leaving for their core systems."

"That's all of their offensive fleet..." Nelson muttered, half in disbelief and half in awe, "And then some. That has to include some of their planetary defense groups."

"Affirmative, Admiral... three of their rim systems have been abandoned by their military, not including Senth of course." Joshua told him.

"Do you think they know we're coming?" Admiral Zel-Dai asked.

"Wouldn't make any damn sense if they did. Why waste three counter fleets to try and break my siege just to abandon the planet for a mass fleet buildup." Mendez retorted.

"We pull out fleets back before launching larger strikes." Admiral Kalik said in reply.

"Yes but we don't disengage in a costly retreat while enemy bombers are choking up out engines while we jump to hyperspace." Mendez sighed more than said. "And we don't pull back Planetary Defense Fleets for it either.

"It's still a possibility we have to prepare for... we still don't fully understand how the bugs think." Hannah told them. Next to her, Edward kept looking over the galactic overly and all the data attached to it, she could practically see the gears moving in his head and it was only because of how well she knew him that she was able to guess his next move.

"My fleet along with the Third and Sixth will still meet at Senth for a final strike with support from the _Republic_; Second, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth will pull back to planets with Transition Gateways while _Alderaan_ and _Mandalore_ move to the Scylian Rim and New Fentok respectively... any questions?"

"You want me to abandon Senth Site?" Jacobs pried.

"Leave a garrison in the capitol and evacuate all bugger civilians when you do, I'd also leave a battle group detachment to cover it from above. We're not taking any chances."

"Yes sir." Jacobs replied, his transmission cutting off as he saluted the Grand Admiral. All around, the other Fleet Admirals repeated the gesture before the main briefing room was eerily quiet once more.

"The thing that worries me most, is that no Knights have had any odd feelings about this... not even me." Nelson finally said after a few minutes of staring at the galaxy map silently.

"You're usually not as in tune with things as I am, what makes you think you'd sense something that I wouldn't?"

"If it involves _**him**_, I sense it. I _always_ sense it."

"Alright alright... Ed, you don't need to string yourself up like this so early on."

"A little hard not to given what's going on." he sighed.

"I'm very well aware of that but we need you calm and somewhat relaxed when we start setting things into motion." Hannah replied, kissing his cheek softly and standing up. "It'll take us a few days to get to Senth... I suggest you spend it trying to relax with me."

"Meditation room...?" he asked as he slumped in his chair a little.

"If you're into that sort of thing." she replied, her tone taking a sultry tone as she started towards the door.

"... oh..." he said, a slight blush reaching his face and a light giggle escaping Hannah's lips.

"Just come to our room when you're ready, darling." she told him as she walked out of the room.

"Joshua, hold all calls for the next few hours, even if they're from Tinto."

"Aye sir, activating Privacy Protocol A1-S."

* * *

Admiral Torcille paced the bridge of the _Gangster's Gamble_ impatiently as the Third Fleet reoriented itself to make the jump to Senth Site. It was a lengthy process given his preferred tactic of keeping his ships scattered and firing at the enemy from extreme range. It didn't do as much damage upon impact as Jacobs' favorite with the Close Combat Protocol but it gave his ships enough time to dodge enemy fire if they wanted or needed to.

It also made getting ready for a mass jump a pain in the ass whenever he wanted to get somewhere in a hurry. In this case, the jump to Senth Site so that he could take command of his new ship and finish this war. Nelson would lead the charge, but Torcille was determined to use the _Republic_ to its full potential as something even deadlier than the _Executor_.

"All ships are ready for jump, Admiral."

"And the First Fleet?"

"Already en route. Duylio and Revan are anxiously awaiting your arrival... seems your XO enjoys command but not the aspect of it where Grand Admiral Nelson tells him to stop complaining." the communications officer replied. Torcille simply chuckled at the statement.

"Well as everyone knows, the Supreme Commander is a bit of an acquired taste... all ships are clear for jump. Get us moving."

* * *

Aurex 22, 5 NRC

Tinto slowly peeled a bandage off of his head as the information came in piece by piece. Nelson sending most of the fleets into defensive deployments, changing the roster for the final attack on the bugger homeworld, the mass retreat...

"Someone please explain to me why everything went to Mustafar in a handbasket, please..." he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No one knows sir." one of his protocol droids answered, "All the intel we have points only at a massive fleet buildup in the core systems of the Crandolian Empire."

"Which means bad news for us regardless... we have to take their home system to end the war, but we can-"

"Chancellor, the situation is only dire if we are extremely unlucky." another droid added. Tinto nodded in reply for a moment before standing from his chair and waving the medic next to him off.

"Just keep me up to date with all information... where is Nelson right now?"

"About to arrive at the Crandolian Homeworld... ETA unknown but soon."

"I guess the cards have been played then... it's all up to Ed now..."

* * *

"Entering Realspace in 5 minutes, Admiral." Joshua announced.

"Status updates." Nelson replied.

"All ships showing green."

"Torcille's calling in ready and impatient."

"_Kindred Spirit_ is ready on all systems."

"My knights are ready for a fight, Ed." Hannah's voice added over the com system.

"Joshua, get me a fleets wide channel... Alright everyone, stick to formation and get ready for the fight of your lives. The Crandos have been preparing for this strike for days and we're going to give them the best we have. _Republic_ will be our shock trooper; Mendez, you and every other HBC capable ship stay off at and to the side of the battlefield and snipe out anything you can... everyone else... fight with honor and try not to die. Nelson, out."

"Inspiring as usual, Admiral." Joshua quipped, his avatar grinning at the Admiral. "Exiting in 5."

"Very well, shields up at maximu-..." Nelson began to say as his ship exited hyperspace, only to be shocked into silence.

"Admiral, just about every captain is asking what the hell happened." the com officer announced.

"That's a good question." Nelson murmured as he looked out at the Crandolian homeworld, its surface nothing but an ocean of lava and the broken husks of thousands of Crando ships. In the distance, he could see the second planet of the system, their military center, was now half gone and had a new asteroid field where its missing half used to be.

"That is... a _very_ good question..."


	40. Chapter 38

"Keep scanning for anything that could be of use to us." Nelson ordered quietly. It had been nearly an hour since he and nearly 400 ships of the Eclipse Republic Navy had arrived at the Crandolian Homeworld only to find its crust slagged and fleet completely annihilated.

"At least this explains why they pulled away from our front lines..." Hannah added as she continued to sift through what tactical data she could. "Only wish we could find out _what_ exactly did this..."

"Anything new on the scans, Joshua?"

"Barely, sir. We've started picking up trace amounts of reactor coolant and hull armor dust that matches no known Crandolian specs."

"Think it was the Black Moon?" Hannah asked.

"Doubtful, they've been inactive in the war since its second year... and even then, they'd never have the power to do... this..." Nelson replied, gesturing out the main viewport as the _Kindred Spirit_ floated past more debris.

"To confirm your theory sir, no Black Moon presence of any kind has been detected, they weren't anywhere in this system during the attack." Joshua replied.

"More like slaughter." the weapons officer added, to which she received silent agreement from the whole bridge crew.

* * *

Admiral James Mendez continued to look on at the carnage with a frown. Next to him, Chris stood and while the older man couldn't see it, he was sure the Centurion was sharing the same facial expression. This wasn't right, and the scans popping up showed reactor coolant that was too similar for comfort.

"Run it again, Tom." he finally said.

"Scanning..." the AI replied, his avatar flickering for a moment as he devoted most of his processing power to check Mendez's suspicion again. "Complete, 89% match, Admiral... nothing else could have turned a heavy destroyer into slag like that with how quickly the estimates are showing."

"Which is nothing but bad news."

"Do you think they'll be hostile to the Republic?" Chris asked.

"Given how they were before the War... who knows, all I know for sure is we can't take any chances. Tom, get me a line to Grand Admiral Nelson."

* * *

"This sector is clear, Admiral." the Chief Ops officer stated.

"Do a triple check and then bring us back around to rejoin the fleet." Torcille replied, more to the AIs than to the officer, "After that we wait for orders as to where to commence a proper shakedown. Status?"

"Everything's holding steady, sir." Duylio answered, "Still no anomalies or other issues with any of our systems."

"Very we-... main screen, zoom in on that area near the debris field." Torcille said as he perked up a little. As the screen magnified that sector of the system, he grinned and stood up. "All ahead full towards the debris field, we have a bugger cruiser with dead engines and by the looks of it, undergoing repairs. Scramble fighters and ready the boarding teams... Captain, prepare to take on prisoners."

At his words, the bridge burst into action, AIs and officers relaying orders, flight controllers strapping back into their seats, and plenty of new communications data being sent over to the _Kindred Spirit_.

* * *

"Sir, incoming hail from Admiral Mendez."

"On screen." Ed replied, finally taking a seat in his command chair and looking up at the screen.

"Nelson, good to see you again."

"Likewise, Mendez; what do you have?"

"We need to get out of the system and back to friendly space. Now." Mendez stated. Nelson's shock at that statement was apparent on his face and even Chris who was standing off to the side and far back from Mendez could see it.

"And why exactly is that...?"

"I think I know who attacked here... we've been running scans and the only thing that could slag these ships like this, is an HBC strike. A sizable portion of the bugger fleet was taken out by HBC."

"But your fleet is the only one in the known galaxy with that sort of weaponry." Nelson replied as worry started to nag at the back of his mind.

"That wasn't always the case, Admiral... back during the Abyssal War, HBCs were common weapons among the two humanoid factions. And not all of the human factions stayed to fight the war until its end..."

"James...?" the Admiral asked. Mendez simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head slightly.

"During the War, a faction of humans fled. Deserted us. Ran like cowards. They left us out to dry despite being our strongest warriors."

"Why'd an entire faction leave though?" Hannah asked as she walked up next to her husband.

"They lost 90% of their navy in a single battle with Abyss... they were a warrior race whose entire culture was devoted to battle, much like your Mandalorians, and they lost horribly. Imagine that, Ed... trillions of bloodlines ended, entire family trees coming to an abrupt and bloody halt..."

"And yet you still call them cowards."

"My crew and I were ready to fight to the death. We didn't go into stasis voluntarily, Admiral." Mendez retorted, "There's a reason you had to unlock us before we awoke."

"A prison meant to save you?"

"We were the last of our faction as well when the War was coming to a close; The Omegas wanted to preserve us just in case they managed to win."

"Preservation of the past... does this 'lost culture' have Centurions?"

"No, sir." Chris spoke up, "We were created three years after they fled."

"I see... well, that's one good piece of news..." Nelson murmured before looking back up at Mendez. "What of the rest of _your_ faction, James? What happened that made you and your crew the last of your kind?"

"Well, it's very simple... 90% of our fleet was killed by Abyss, and the rest ran... then we were put into stasis." Mendez replied, causing Nelson's eyes to widen considerably.

"That mea-"

"We may be facing the ancestors of my former brothers-in-arms. We might be going to war against the Pirinions."

* * *

"Calling back all fighters now, Admiral. Nelson wants us jumping back to the nearest planet with a Transition Gateway." Revan announced.

"Sithspit." was all that Torcille managed to say in reply, thought it summed up his feelings on the matter quite accurately. Here he was in charge of the biggest damn ship in the fleet, and he had nothing to use it against save broken ships and space dust.

"Admiral, a distress signal is reaching all ships from Aurek."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean you're under attack?" Nelson asked as the fleets continued to get into formation.

"They came out of nowhere!" Admiral Zel-Dai replied. "We were back at Aurek for a redeployment via Gateway and then out of nowhere a fleet enters the system!"

"All the hyperspace routes are covered and defended though."

"I-" he started before the feed cut in and out rapidly for a few moments. When Zel-Dai appeared on screen, smoke was billowing into the bridge behind him. "I don't think they use hyperdrives, they jumped in from a vector that should have put them through a star first!"

"We're on our way but it will take us a week. Get with Jacobs, organize the defense, and hold the line until we arrive."

"Aye s-" was all the Admiral was able to get out before the feed cut out.

"How close are we to jumping?" Nelson asked.

"Less than a minute, all ships are reporting in for the ju-now! Drives are spinning up across the fleet, everyone hang on." the Engineering officer stated.

In quick succession, the combined ships of the First, Third, and Sixth fleets jumped back towards the nearest core world with a Transition Gateway, and with that, one step closer to the situation at New Mandalore.

* * *

"All power to the dorsal shields and activate the shield leech!" Jacobs barked. In reply, his ship shuddered slightly as the shields reformed and a beam of blue energy with purple static being thrown off of it impacted the nearest cruiser and sucked its shields dry. Green Squadron pounced the moment the shields dropped and went straight for the bridge, or at least what they assumed to be the bridge, blasting it out and a large portion of the superstructure around it along with it.

"Straight for the throat..." Horizon mused for a moment before the ship was thrown roughly to the 'left'. Another beam of pure plasma impacted a frigate and the resulting explosion of the four ships near it buffeted the _Iron Will_ violently.

"Another beam weapon, all guns target where that came from!"

"Firing." the junior weapons officer replied. They had already been fighting a full day and the chief weapons man was in the medbay courtesy of his panel detonating after a particularly nasty missile hit.

"Anyone got an ETA on Nelson?" Jacobs asked, finally sitting back down in his chair as he watched friendly fire lance out at the enemy fleet.

"Six and a half days, Admiral." the Ops officer announced. Jacobs swore loudly, though it was more of a shout than anything else.

"And just how many ships have made it to the surface?"

"More than I'd like to say sir, planetary defenses are holding for now though and most of our orbital defense stations are still active."

"Then may the Force be with us... reform the fleet closer to the stations but spread us out more. I don't want those damn beam weapons to get so many kills with splash damage..."

* * *

"Chancellor, we need to evacuate you immediately." one of Tinto's bodyguards said as they waited outside his personal armory.

"I abandon this building when Aurek's crust is cracking underneath us." Tinto replied as he finally walked out. The Chancellor had elected to forgo the ceremonial bullshit and used his old black and crimson Republic Knight armor only with added plates and extra holsters. Ever since he had taken up politics, practicing was his only escape from paperwork and senators, and so he had taken up Nelson's form of blaster pistols and lightsabers in tandem.

"As you wish sir, but we should at least get you to the command bunker." another guard added.

"First we evacuate civilian personnel to the emergency bunker be-" Kyle began until klaxons began to blare. "Security breach... someone give me a report." he added as he finally wrapped his crimson eyeband around his head.

"An enemy commando team has entered the Senate... looks like about a dozen of them from what the cameras they disabled picked up before deactivation." a protocol droid replied.

"All of you see to getting the civvies to safety, you know full well that I can handle myself."

"But si-"

"I said get moving. Go!" Tinto barked. Within moments he was alone and walking towards the command bunker at the top of the Senate building. While it was called a bunker, it was more of an extremely durable escape pod with a tactical center inside in case of extreme emergencies.

Extreme emergencies like a thousand hostile ships popping up on the edge of your home system and opening fire on civilian and military targets without discretion and then landing millions of troops on the surface of your homeworld.

_"This commando infiltration is just the icing on one piss poor cake..._" Tinto thought as he continued through the hallways and various lifts until he finally arrived in the Command Bunker.

"Shield, get me up to speed." he ordered.

"Activating; tactical data is being uploaded to your neural interface now."

"Keep me posted regardless of risk." Tinto replied as he took a seat. "Any news on those commandos?"

"The only way we can keep track of them is wherever the cameras go dea-cameras just died right outside, sir! Intruder alert! Intruder ale-" the AI shouted before electricity shorted out every system in the bunker. Lights crackled, consoles detonated, and most of the screens blew out before the main blast door was ripped open from the outside.

"I hate AIs that don't shut up." a calm female voice stated from behind him, "Now then, if you would be cooperative and just hold still, I'll make your death as painless as possible."

"Ma'am... do you have any idea how often I've heard that phrase and ended up killing the idiot saying it?" he told her, standing up from his seat slowly.

"And do you have any idea how many times I've made good on my word, Chancellor?"

"Of course, of course..." Tinto replied, still with his back to her. "So you're just a simple assassin with a big mouth."

"And you're my target. A well armed target but still just a target that needs to be eliminated."

"Too bad you're taking on a blind man." he told her with a smirk as he turned to face his attacker and brought up two of his saber hilts. Twin blades of black sprang to life as he took a defensive stance and scowled at his assailant.

"Then you should be an easy kill." the woman replied, smiling at him as her armor shifted into position and she brought up her own blade, this one radiating with a purple hue.

"Can I at least know my name before I cut off one of your limbs and tell you to get the hell off my planet?"

"You can call me the Arch-Mage." she replied in a deceptively sweet tone before she leaped forward and crossed blades with the Chancellor of the Eclipse Republic.


	41. Chapter 39

The floor warped underneath the two combatants as they poured more and more energy into their attacks. Tinto sending shards of the durasteel floor at the Arch-Mage and the Arch-Mage returning the favor with chunks of wall and ceiling panels mixed in with the same purple energy that radiated from her blade.

The duel had been going on for nearly two hours now and both had resorted to doing their best to try and kill or at least drive the other off with powers instead of the blade. Equally matches as they were, Tinto didn't want to be losing a limb just because he got tired.

"You're skilled for a blind man!" the Arch-Mage spat at him. Tinto didn't reply, while he was willing to exchange banter pre and post-fight, he wasn't one to talk much during an engagement... something he never quite understood about the Nelsons but respected nonetheless.

Silently he slammed his right foot down on the floor in front of him, causing the floor to ripple and shoot forward like a wave that touched and broke through the ceiling, blocking him off from the Arch-Mage's view. In one fluid motion, she drew her free hand over her blade, causing it to ripple and shift into an ornate staff with an image of a half angel half demon carved into the top. In a second, equally graceful motion she created an energy shield around her that seared through the wave of floor plating as it passed her and continued down the hall through the side of the Senate building.

"Blind bastard ran away..." she growled once she waved the smoke out of the way and noticed that the Chancellor was nowhere to be found.

_"A simple location spell should do the tri-damnit all he can cloak from my magic as well..._ the Arch-Mage through in frustration as her quarry had managed to successfully evade her grasp.

"Oh well, I guess it's time to join in the hunt... Lord Phyron, status on the battle in orbit?"

* * *

"The battle is going... interestingly, they seem to be pulling in hundreds if not thousands of reinforcement ships from those... odd portal-type rings in the system. We've tried firing on them but the shielding is stronger than anything we've seen before. It seems that they don't want us stopping their ships from coming in." Phyron replied from his command chair aboard the _Devourers Might_.

"Then focus on their fleet before burning the planet." the Arch-Mage replied, more of a bark than an order.

"We're trying ma'am but most of their fleet can cloak and their orbital stations are equipped with Beam Accelerators or some other equivalent. We take out one of them, they take out one of us. We don't have the nu-"

"Phyron, we have our orders."

"I'm well aware of our orders, ma'am, but we shouldn't have attacked so quickly after destroying that other race. They bloodied us up too much for an invasion of this scale to be without casualties."

"Your concern is noted and ignored. Unless you want us both to end up like your predecessor, continue pressing forward regardless of losses."

"... As you wish, m'lady..." Phyron replied quietly before the feed cut. "All ships, spread out to maximize safety and try to get a proper lock on those orbital stations."

"Their shielding is too heavy, sir."

"Then concentrate firepower and link up the targeting computers for Durendal's sake!"

"As you wish, sir!" the terrified weapons officer squeaked back as Phyron saw a trio of beams lance out at one of those blasted orbital stations and finally take down its shields.

"Launch a volley of missiles at that station and move on, we have ships to hunt."

* * *

"Going all quiet sir... do you think they see us...?" Horizon asked quietly through Jacobs' earpiece.

"If they do they must not think we're a threat..." he murmured back. A few thousand kilometers 'above' a battle group of whatever the hell these new enemies were, the _Iron Will_ and ten other ships continued down, letting their momentum carry them with only minimal thruster correction. It was a risky move but one that Nelson would most likely approve of.

Jacobs had organized these ships given their service record in the Fifth Fleet and was hoping that his choice would pay off. The plan was simple, drift down while cloaked between these enemy ships in formation and then blast them to pieces with whatever they could while their beam weapons were unable to fire at them.

_"If this doesn't work we're all going to be debris clouds..."_ Jacobs thought, gripping his armrests rather tight while still trying to save face.

"Almost within range..." his Ops officer whispered. Steadily, kilometer by kilometer the eleven ships, nine Keldabes and two Venators, continued their downward journey between the enemy battle group.

"Closing on targets..."

_"Thank the Force they don't have cloaking..."_

"Thrusters firing in 5..."

* * *

"Son of a bitch where the hell did that come from!?" Phyron barked as three of his personal guard burst into flames before turning into smoking hulks. A fourth caught too much of those damn shield-bypassing shells to her bridge and shut down right when a squadron of fighters strafed her engines.

"Cloaked in! Too many entry vectors to estimate but those fighters definitely came from that flagship."

"What makes you think it's a flagship?"

"Center of the formation, firing on us with everything she has, and she's got a _lot_ more war paint on her hull in comparison to the others, Lord."

"Concentrate fire on her, order no ships to fire in our aid, the beams would just melt us and them in the process."

"Shields barely holding sir."

"Then dump life support into them! We are not holding back against an inferior spe-" Phyron began to say before the bridge of his vessel detonated. Had he been a normal member of the House Pyranius, he would have been killed in the blast, but Lord Phyron was not of normal blood.

Those born to royal lines were of considerably better stock both physically and mentally compared to those who served them. Being of higher blood than the rest of his officers also granted him use of magics and armor that were otherwise forbidden. In this case, magics and body armor strong enough to keep him alive as he looked out of what was left of his bridge just long enough to see another mass driver shell coming straight at him.

He sidestepped and held his ground as it passed and detonated further back inside of his battered ship. Someone was going to pay for this once he was on the bridge of another vessel. Quietly he noted the name of the ship that had done him this insult before it stealthed and disappeared from view.

RAC _Iron Will_.

* * *

"Critical hit sir! Gutted her bridge and the rest of her command deck, moving off so she can't realign to get a targeting vector." Horizon practically cheered.

"And the rest of our boys?" Jacobs asked.

"_Afterburn_ took a few hits to her bow but she's stabilized. Everyone else made off with only minor hull hits and shields down to 50% at minimum. Awaiting your orders." Ops replied.

"Stealth as best we can and try again on another battle group. We do this until they get wise and bloody us up too much to fight."

"And of the other fleets coming in?"

"Tell them that we hold the line and we make these bastards pay for every inch of vacuum they try to take. No one else lands on New Mandalore!"

"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur, sir?" the weapons officer asked, to which the rest of the bridge crew allowed themselves to laugh.

"You bet your scrawny ass it is. Move out!"

* * *

Chancellor Kyle Tinto ducked into another hallway as the Arch-Mage sent another blast of whatever Force energy she was using at him, only unlike a Force push, this was more like a Force spear.

_"Dangerous, she must have killed the Crando Queen before they took out their homeworld... well, two can play at that game."_ he thought as he centered himself. Quickly and quietly he manipulated the metal in the hallway behind her, unscrewing panels, releasing bolts, taking screws out of the walls, and all around just dismantling it as quietly as possible.

_"That should be enough."_

* * *

Pain. Unbelievable pain. Like wild hunter-hornets stinging her repeatedly in the same spot. The Arch-Mage let out a howl of both pain and rage as bolts, screws, and pieces of the hallways assaulted her from behind, cutting into her skin and passing through gaps in her armor. She barely managed to get another shield up as the bigger metal plates flew towards her.

"You sly little cripple!" she spat, coughing up a little bit of blood before muttering a few healing incantations. Slowly, what holes were left in her began to close and the internal damage started to heal before she felt herself impact the wall to her left.

Tinto was right on her, holding her as best he could up against the wall with the Force, not willing to get near her until her shield dissipated. She could see a controlled yet still angry scowl on the young man's face along with quite a few nicks and scratches to go along with the scar above his right eye.

"I may be blind but I can still see, Arch-Mage... now tell me, who the hell are you people and why are you targeting the Eclipse Republic?"

* * *

"Admiral, we're still taking in as much information as possible but so far no ground troops have made it in close enough to capture nevertheless interrogate any of the enemy combatants."

"Keep filtering in everything you can, Joshua..." Nelson replied quietly. Ever since they had started the jump, he had been taking in every bit of intel the troops at Aurek could muster but still the only thing apparent was how much of a technology gap there was between the Eclipse and whoever these new enemies were.

For hours now he had sifted through dozens of videos of soldiers in various shades of green armor shrug off heavy anti-personnel fire like it was nothing, capital ships firing off HBC type beam weapons en masse, Jacobs taking the fight to the enemy with spectacular success.

_"At least headshots seems to floor them..."_ he thought, trying to find a silver lining where he could.

"Do we have any idea who they are?"

* * *

"Admiral... Zel-Dai, can you hear me?" an orderly asked as he continued to hold a 'wakeup stim' underneath the officer's nose. Wakeup Stims were little more than small capsules with concentrated spice in them to cause the sinuses to flare and cause whoever they were trying to wake to finally come to.

Lucky for the man hovering over the Admiral, it worked like a charm and Zel-Dai sprang up.

"How long was I out?"

"Barely an hour; we took a hit to the bridge and we're aboard Orbital Defense Station _Appo_."

"And my ship?"

"Docked and being resupplied... and awaiting your return. Jacobs has been asking for updates."

"Tell him the Fourth Fleet is ready to fight back whenever Fifth gets the durasteel out of their shoes." he replied, standing up slowly. "And start getting my intel up to date, I want to know what and just who the hell we're fighting."

* * *

"Someone get me a link to command!" General Park shouted. It had been an hour since the _Redemption_ had been shot down and barely a few minutes since they had managed to get her compliment of marines and armor out of his ruined ship and into the fight. Ever since, he'd been trying to get a forward HQ set up for the ground forces past the outskirts of the capitol with Second Lieutenant Uyon's platoons having guard duty.

"Still working on a link, General, but it looks like command isn't up and running properly yet!" a technician shouted back over the din. Moments later laser bolts impacted the makeshift barricade they had made out of a Canderous Tank that had been taken out during a strafing run. One bolt missed Park by a matter of millimeters but still managed to singe his neck.

"Damnit! Return fire! Return fire damnit!"

"Trying to sir!" Uyon replied as his men laid down as much return fire as possible. Droids, sentients, and what tanks they still had left did their best to eliminate the latest wave of enemy troops trying to overrun the kilometer long barricade their ships had accidentally created when they shot down the _Redemption_.

"Uyon, you keep your platoon here to cover the armor. Lieutenant Indola! Get your sniper teams up in the superstructure and aiming at heads!"

"Goes against their training, General."

"Does it look like I care? Center mass be damned that's where their armor is the strongest. Aim for the head and take them down as best we can. We hold the line here, no one gets to New Keldabe!"

"Yes sir." she replied before running off and leaving General Park to draw his own sidearms and add more red blaster bolts into the mix.

"And someone find out who the hell these guys are!"

* * *

"We, little Chancellor, are your demise... we are nothing more than that herald of an even greater force..." The Arch-Mage sneered with a grin.

* * *

"You will pay for this! You will all pay for this! No one disrespects a flagship like this!" Phyron barked into the vacuum.

* * *

"It appears sir, that they are part of a larger force... much like the Alliance that Mendez made note of when he was briefing us on the Alliance War with Abyss." Joshua stated.

"And that's supposed to be encouraging...?"

"Not at all, but we finally have a name."

"And just who are they?"

* * *

"We are House Pryanius!" Phyron continued to shout.

* * *

"We are your demise." the Arch-Mage practically sang.

* * *

"They are... The Coalition."


	42. Chapter 40

"ETA, Joshua?" Nelson asked as he continued to pace in front of his command chair.

"Just under four days and before you ask, the situation has not improved..."

"On screen." Ed replied, looking up as a few dozen different feeds of the battle sprang to life.

Frigates were being picked out of the vacuum any time they popped cloak. Beams of energy lancing across their shields and hulls for a mere few seconds before making them pop and doing catastrophic damage to the superstructure. By the time the first beam to hit had ended, a second one usually intersected the bridge or engineering decks, causing the whole ship to explode and damage anything too close to it.

Capital ships like Keldabes and Aggressors didn't fare much better, usually only lasting three or four beams instead of just two. One even activated a micro hyperjump to take intercept a beam heading towards an orbital station, though something was amiss in what Nelson saw.

"... use what cameras you can to give me a clear view of Aurek from orbit..." he muttered. The sight he was greeted with got a gasp out of more than one bridge officer. The surface was spotted with random areas that were glowing orange. One patch in particular was uncomfortably close to New Keldabe.

"Joshua... are those strikes intentional...?"

"Indeed sir..." Joshua told him as one of the screens showed a frigate intercepting a beam heading towards the planet, "The Coalition is attempting to glass the planet."

* * *

"_Grey Menace _is completely disabled and launching escape pods." Horizon stated as Jacobs looked on. It had been two days since they hit an enemy flagship but only one day since the Coalition ships had begun attempting to fire on the surface. His ship had intercepted one of those beams which had regrettably damaged their shield generators. With any luck they'd be back up and running properly when Nelson arrived in a few days.

_"If we last that long..."_

"Armor enhancements complete, sir." the Ops officer announced.

"Containment?"

"The enemy is still being stalled in the northwestern quadrant of the system but they're still pressing. _Alderaan_ and _Mandalore_are the only things keeping them from running our flanks through though." Horizon replied. "The sooner Nelson gets here, the better... there may not be a fleet to reinforce in four days."

"What's left of my fleet?"

"Holding at 37% casualties."

"And Zel-Dai?"

"Starting another counteroffensive on their rear with what's left of his personal guard."

"They've started seeing through our little surprise attack bit, what's his play?"

* * *

"All the gunships are loaded up and ready sir." Marine Colonel Ziosen stated with a salute. Admiral Zel-Dai returned it before walking with the man towards the lead ship.

"And your boys?"

"Aching to do some real damage."

"What about our remaining Knights?"

"We're also aching to give these bastards a taste of their own medicine." Ziosen quipped, tapping the saberstaff hilt on his belt. "And while I know that Knights aren't supposed to get special treatment but they're all on the third gunship... I want them all getting aboard alive so we can be put to our best use."

"Desperate times call for tactics that aren't always smiled upon, Colonel, and honestly... I don't care." Zel-Dai replied, fastening his helmet on. "You just make sure we get everyone alive onto that command ship."

"Yes, sir!" the colonel barked, saluting again as Zel-Dai made his way to the first gunship in line. The lower launch bay of Hangar A aboard the wounded flagship _Last Call _was filled to the brim with LAAT/is and LAAT/ms and aboard each one, a Marine shock team, Knights, tech specialists, everything needed to board and take over an enemy capital ship.

Zel-Dai, despite his rank, had decided to join in on the raid and had dressed the part, putting on his rarely used Admiral's Armor. More ornate than that of a Captain but less so than that of Grand Admiral Nelson, the armor was a solid shade of crimson with black trim and had an internal shield generator. On the chest however was one bit of personalization that Zel-Dai had taken quite a bit of pride in.

The largest possible Eclipse Emblem he could fit on his armor plastered straight on where the armor was thickest.

* * *

"Are we lined up?" Lieutenant Kile asked quietly. With most of the senior officers aboard gunships waiting to board, he was left in charge of the ship and getting her back in one piece to the dockyards on the far side of the planet.

"Holding steady sir, the battle group is ready to fire on Zel-Dai's order." the junior Ops officer replied.

"They have the right target?"

"A command ship that's in prime condition but with weakened shields... we think. An orbital platform got a shot off near here a few minutes ago in preparation for the attack."

"Go ahead and set the timer for 30 seconds, boys." a familiar voice said over the com.

"Aye, Admiral." Kile replied, nodding to the AI pedestal next to him. "And sir... good luck."

* * *

Five Coalition ships were holding position near the rear of the fleet, one in particular, the _Death Lord_was in the center of them coordinating the assault on what they had learned was called "New Mandalore". It was a command ship and thus larger than the four cruisers, all of which were keeping a safe distance away from it. The orbital defense platforms had been doing quite a bit of damage by hitting clusters of vessels and after two days, the main tactic had changed.

This however, left them vulnerable to a different form of attack. Barely a kilometer away from the _Death Lord_'s main hangar, the _Last Call_was aiming her Hangar A straight into it while cloaked. Mingled in between the five ships were another seven Eclipse ships, a mixture of Venators, Vengeance, and Acclamator-III class vessels.

In a flurry of fire, the _Death Lord_'s first layer of shielding flared briefly before shutting down as turbolaser fire, ion rounds, and hundreds upon hundreds of fighter-based weapons pounded the small battle group but focused on the command ship, or more specifically, taking her shields down.

It cost them an Acclamator-III and two Vengeance frigates, but her shields finally broke and when they did, Zel-Dai pounced.

* * *

The Admiral held on for dear life as the gunships shot out of the hangar. Fightercraft gave covering fire as well as doing their best to intercept enemy fire that lanced towards the swarm of landing craft with either their own weapons or in a few cases, their ships.

The first ships into the enemy hangar were three LAAT/m gunships which promptly opened their side doors and let their payload of marine join them in opening fire on anything in view ranging from fighters and bombers to unfortunate pilots and mechanics. Within seconds of breaching the hangar they had landed boots on the deck plating and cleared the immediate area.

The rest of the boarding force followed shortly after, landing in the cleared hangar and dropping off more marine forces, a platoon of Knights, and Admiral Zel-Dai.

"Start moving into the hallways! Engineers set up defensive turrets and close this hangar down, I don't want reinforcements moving in behind us!" he barked, "LTs get your platoons moving, secure anything and everything you can by the time I reach the main objective; Colonel, you and your Knights are with me... we're taking the Bridge."

* * *

"My lord, they've boarded us... electronics warfare protocols are being overridden by their AIs, they've already locked down our main hangar and the surrounding ar- internal turrets are no longer ours on decks 1 through 2-" the Ops officer began to say before a laser bolt impacted the back of his head.

Lord Phyron lowered his smoking pistol with disdain as his Ops officer was dragged away from his console and another man that looked exactly like him took his place.

"Lieutenant H-52... fix what H-51 didn't do correctly or 53 is getting a promotion." he growled.

"Of course, sir." the clone replied quietly as Phyron stood up from his command chair. Five enemy ships burning around him as debris fields while only two of his were damaged too badly to fight. This boarding party would be of no consequence anyway so he counted this as a failed enemy counter attack.

"Someone get me a line to the Arch-Mage." he ordered. Seconds later he was greeted with the sight of the Arch-Mage in a forward command center.

"What is it, Phyron?" she asked. It had been two days since she had escaped her failed assassination attempt, her commando team was dead and she had needed to get her arm healed. Needless to say, her want for payback was showing in her tactics on the ground. Over aggressive tendencies had cost her an entire battalion near a crashed capital ship and ever since she had left their capitol, the Republic troops had been becoming more and more effective, but how she could not figure out.

"Standard update. We're still pushing their flanks with minimal success... and we're running out of reinforcements to send you. I can't start sending down shock troops meant for internal ship defense."

"And why not?"

"They're attempting to board our ships, and we need every man we can hang on to."

* * *

Standard protocol for boarding any enemy vessel is to lock down the entry point, take the engineering decks, and then secure the bridge. All of this happens while the AI of the ship hosting the boarding party works on the internal systems to make things as easy on the infiltrators as possible.

This operation on the other hand was going much differently than expected. Ever since they had landed troops on the ground, Zel-Dai had been hearing nothing but reports of soldiers that made Crando shock troops look like wimps, but these internal defense troops, their armor was lacking in the durability department.

_"It's almost like they think they would never get boarded..."_he thought before noticing another anti-personnel turret embedded in the ceiling fire down the hallway at a squad of Coalition marines.

"Can we give AIs commendations?" Colonel Ziosen asked with a grin.

"If the _Last Call _makes it through this battle, maybe." Zel-Dai replied with an equally large yet unseen grin. 16 Knights, 20 Marines, and his heavily armed and armored bridge crew followed in around him as they worked their way up towards the bridge while the remaining force, nearly 1000 sentients and droids spread through the ship, locking down what they could and eliminating anything they couldn't.

"We're getting close, sir. Specs show a turbolift or whatever they use that leads straight to the bridge." Ziosen stated as they continued forward. "Small command deck in comparison to our ships... it's mostly armor plating."

"Leaves less room for them to hide then." the Admiral noted, getting a nod from a few of those in his strike team. "All aboard... five of you stay with the command crew on the elevator once we arrive, everyone else, if it isn't one of ours, you kill it."

The resounding response of "Aye, sir!"s made him smile as they stepped onto the elevator. Two minutes later, they were on the command deck.

* * *

"My Lord, it appears that we have gu-" one of the guards said before the door to the bridge being blown in cut him off and cut him in half. Before the smoke cleared, red and blue blaster fire sprayed the inside of the bridge, catching half of the bridge crew out of cover and dropping them while wounding most of the rest. Any guard who fired back got a deadly accurate reply.

Lord Phyron was not pleased.

The massive officer raised up his sidearm and fired into the smoke, only to have it get deflected right back at him, grazing his neck.

Lord Phyron was not pleased at all.

* * *

"Move in! Drop anything still stand...ing..." Zel-Dai said as they breached the room, only to be greeted with the site of a massive man in what had to be the thickest armor he'd ever seen. Two feet taller than Zel-Dai, Phyron's higher blood was on full display as he looked down at the Admiral before him.

"Fire damnit!" Ziosen barked, a flurry of blaster fire following his order and all focusing on the only Coalition man standing in the room. He shrugged the blows off as they impacted his armor while he shielded his face with his hand. While the marines kept him distracted, the Knights with them advanced forward with sabers blazing.

One of the Knights slumped to the floor with a broken neck when Phyron kicked his foot out and landed a blow on the Junior Knight's chin. The rest began closing in and sprinting away in quick succession in an attempt to take him down, only for their blades to start meeting one of his own.

He had grabbed it from his belt and almost effortlessly parried anything coming towards him, ignoring the few blows that made it past his defensive strikes in a wasted attempt to chip away at his armor, armor fortified with magic and the blessings from the Sub-Mages that were trained under the Arch-Mage.

It still didn't stop everything though, and he was still recovering from having the bridge of his first flagship blown up by the _Iron Will_. He felt burns on his neck and the back of his head begin to form as stray blaster bolts impacted his skin once getting through his dwindling wards.

"You will all pay for this transgression, no one takes from the Coalition and lives." he growled loudly at them.

"We do." Zel-Dai replied as he closed in. The moment that Phyron turned to face him, he fired his pistol near point blank into his face. Phyron reeled back, howling in pain and holding his burning right eye socket, even going as far as to drop to a knee as he yelled out in anger more than pain.

"Surrender. Now." the Admiral added, still keeping his sidearm up and aimed at his enemy's head.

Phyron didn't speak for a few moments before he stood back up and looked Zel-Dai straight in the eyes. Zel-Dai's hesitation due to the fact that this man, with an empty and still glowing eye socket, was staring down on him like it was nothing was all Phyron needed to land a single punch straight to his chest, sending him flying into and through a nearby console.

"You will all perish by my hand you dogs!" he shouted before turning to face the rest of his attackers. He never got to shout out another threat as 15 Knights used the strongest Force Push they could muster together to send him flying out of the main viewport and into the vacuum of space.

"Secure the bridge!" Ziosen ordered once the emergency blast plates closed over the breach in the bridge. Once he could move without the rush of atmosphere leaving the room he sprinted over to where Zel-Dai was lying on the ground. He was a mess, to say the least, his helmet was nowhere to be found and his chest plate had a large crack running from his neck to his belt. "Admiral..."

"Di... Col..." he coughed, blood spots hitting Ziosen's visor. "Secure...?"

"Yes sir, the bridge is secure."

"Co.. commander... Jacin... next... next in line..."

"I'll see that he takes over, sir... try not to talk, save your strength." Ziosen replied, glancing up at medic who was simply shaking his head and injecting what painkillers he could to make Admiral Nooell Zel-Dai's inevitable fate less horrid.

"Good... work..." he told him, smiling a little as the painkillers began to take effect, "Proud... of you... all..."

"Thank you Admiral... admiral...? Noelle...? Corpsman, is h-"

* * *

"Admiral, intel coming in from the command ship that Zel-Dai boarded. Ship specs, tactical data, names, IFF tags, weapons data, you name it." Horizon stated as the _Iron Will _began moving from drydock.

"Good, give him my regards then and send word to Nelson."

"Of course si... oh my..."

"What is it, Horizon?" Jacobs asked.

"Commander Jacin is in command of the ship now, and Captain Terel of the Fourth Fleet... he's an Admiral now."

"Wh.. no..." Jacobs replied, looking over to the holotable where Horizon was 'standing', "That can only mean..."

"I'm sorry sir, but Admiral Zel-Dai was killed in action. Medics already made the call... he's gone." the AI told him. Jacobs sat down quickly upon hearing the end of Horizon's statement, his hand covering his mouth. Others on the bridge were equally floored, slumping in their chairs while on officer actually had to hold onto something to keep from falling over.

"... inform Grand Admiral Nelson..." Jacobs muttered, his hand moving up to cover his eyes.

_"Ret'urcye mhi, ner vod..."_


	43. Chapter 41

Five days.

It had been five days since Nelson's fleet had started back towards Aurek Site, and a three since he ordered every ship to overwork their hyperdrives.

Coincidentally, it had also been three days since he had learned of Admiral Zel-Dai's death at the hands of the Coalition.

_"He always was rather headstrong for an Iridonian..." _he thought as he leaned back in his command chair. He had barely been up an hour when the newest intel from New Mandalore had started flowing in again and things were still going sour.

Of the 1600 ships that had responded, about a third of the Eclipse Navy, they had been dwindled down to almost half of that still able to fight, with the rest disabled, crashed, or destroyed and nearly all of High Command had been injured somehow, including one death. The only saving grace was that the Coalition was down to 500 ships, give or take a dozen with how the intel was keeping up, and that what was already being called "Rescue Fleet Alpha" was closing in on a Transition Gateway with all possible speed.

Transition Gateways were the pinnacle of the teleportation technology that had been recovered from Xesh Site before the First Abyss Incident. Each of the 10 Core Worlds had a Gateway that linked up with the a partner gateway at Aurek, and when a ship passed through a gateway, they were instantly transported through the other gate. Each gate could transport an entire fleet at once, or a super capital the size of the _Republic_, something that Nelson would desperately need.

They were a technology that under normal circumstances, made attacking Aurek Site a tactical mistake like no other as a thousand ships could arrive to defend the homeworld in seconds. This however, was not normal circumstance, and they'd be lucky to reach Aurek by the end of the day to salvage what was left of the defense.

* * *

"Keep up the fire." Droid Commander IZ-720 ordered as the shields of his Lucrehulk battlecruiser took beam weapon hits with increasing regularity, "Hold them back as long as we can for the rest of the battle group. Engine power reroute into shields."

For the past ten minutes, _Fury of the Republic _had been holding back a Coalition battle group back as best she could, taking beam weapon strikes, laser blasts, and hundreds of missiles to her shields again and again while launching every fighter and bomber at her disposal in tandem with whatever punishment her guns could dish out. Their reactor was already going critical, but 720 already knew that he and his crew were not going to survive this holding action.

This sort of action was becoming more and more common with the Eclipse ships as failed offensives and Coalition counter-charges lead to the more durable ships acting as a shield so the rest could get to a safe distance. While most in the Eclipse would view this as a casualty free ship loss, Jacobs was of a different mind. Ever since a droid commander had pulled a maneuver that saved the _Iron Will_ during the New Fentok campaign, he had lost his Clone Wars-based anti-droid prejudices. Because of this, he was barely able to let out a depressed sigh when _Fury of the Republic_'s shields broke and she started taking beam hits to her hull.

Three beams pierced the central ball through and through with five more searing right through her arms and engineering decks. Within moments, she was nothing more than a large explosion sending debris in all directions; it wasn't until large, glowing chunks of the ship started slamming into Coalition ships that Jacobs allowed himself a ghost of a smile.

"Rest in piece, clanker..." Jacobs muttered before he stood up from his command chair and walked back to the holotable to analyze the situation for the umpteenth time in the past hour alone. "Move our lines back a dozen kilometers... try and hold them as best we can until reinforcements arrive..."

* * *

"We lost another Lucrehulk." the Ops officer of the _Mandator _sighed.

"And the other ships with it?" Terel asked.

"All managed to get to our lines safely. Minimal losses all around."

"Noted... pull together Battle Group 92-A for another assault, we have to keep hitting back if we're to hold the system."

"92-A was shattered, sir; but we can pull together their remnants and put them with 81-B." his Ops officer replied.

"Put it all together with whatever fighters Jacobs can spare... time to keep moving in and take the fight to them on every front that isn't already engaged. Keep up the pressure, keep them from aiming at the planet."

"Attack Vector, Admiral?"

"Underneath the Coalition Fleet... time to pull the rug out from these bastards."

* * *

Green Squadron drifted next to the _Mandator _as she rose slowly 'underneath' the Coalition position. Green as well as another 20 squadrons of fighters and bombers were to be part of the 50 ship strike against the underbelly of the enemy fleet in order to draw their attention away from the containment lines that the defense was trying to keep around the Coalition.

It was a suicide mission when one thought about it, one that was going to get a lot of people killed, but if this worked it would give what was left of Aurek's defenders the necessary time they needed to stabilize the skirmish lines. After that... well, after that, it was Jacobs' job to keep the Coalition from winning until reinforcements arrived.

"All units, report in." Terel ordered quietly.

"Green Squadron ready and waiting to shove our boots up some Coalition asses." Green Squadron's commanding officer replied.

"All Aggressors checking in, plasma shots ready to fire when you give us the signal." Captain Thuskl of the RAS _Tombstone _stated. He was in command of the 10 Aggressors that were going to act as 'artillery' for the first phase of the attack while the Keldabes and Venators moved in close combat. It was a suggestion to use Close Quarters Capital Ship Combat Protocol, but one that was proving to be an effective method to get around those damn beam weapons.

"Rest of the battle group is showing green across the board. Ready to fire on your command."

"On my mark..." Terel ordered quietly, as if the Coalition sensors could hear him. For nearly five minutes, the Eclipse strike team inched upwards until they were within optimal range. "Fire."

When the flurry of turbolaser, ion, and concussion missile fire impacted the bottom of the Coalition position, ten ships were taken out of the fight automatically. Another seven were disabled as plasma megacannon blasts caked their shields before taking them down and baking the hull off foot by foot.

When the fighters and bombers started intersecting with the enemy formation, three more ships were disabled as explosions blew out from their bridges, with another dozen taking continuous hits on their shields, causing them to flare. However, once the initial surprise of the attack had the tables immediately turned.

First, three beams intersected out, two of which impacted an Aggressor and caused her shields to break before dozens of detonations from Coalition missiles blossomed across her hull when she tried to bank in order to dodge. Right after that, more and more beams cannons were being fired into the fray, breaking shields and burning through hull plate like it was paper next to a flame.

_Mandator_ and three Venators replied in kind with as much turbolaser fire that their reactors would allow coupled with enough Mass Driver rounds to make the _Kindred Spirit_'s broadside batteries jealous. This was courtesy of how Eclipse Venators were made, instead of regular turbolasers on the eight dorsal turret banks, there were Mass Driver cannons.

Four Coalition ships suddenly found huge chunks of their hull armor blown out as the rounds bypassed their shields, dug into their hulls, and activated their reverse mounted warheads. One shot was particularly lucky and caused a malfunction in the beam cannon of a Coalition battleship, causing it and the rest of the vessel to detonate with enough force to crack a cruiser too close to it in half.

"I think we have their attention." Terel growled as a beam arced lazily across the _Mandator_'s shields.

"Shields holding at 62%, sir." the Engineering officer stated.

"Sound the alarms and pump some of life support into them." Terel replied, looking at the battle on the holotable. "And tell _Splash Damage _to back off a little, I don't want enemy casualties to make us lose ships."

"Ay-gaah!" the Com officer began saying before her console detonated and sent her flying out of her chair into the ceiling before she landed in a heap on the ground. More detonations across the bridge started as another beam weapon lanced across the hull, causing a power surge as it baked the hull armor.

The armor of a Keldabe class Carrier/Battleship was three meters of composite durasteel and Vevilium, an ore found on Vev Site that was more powerful than anything the Eclipse had gotten its hands on before. The reason for this was because Keldabes were usually fleet centers and command ships and needed to take hits left and right without being disabled, the only issue now was that these beam weapons were burning through it faster than a turbolaser hitting an unshielded corvette-class vessel.

"Status report!" Terel coughed through the smoke that was billowing into the bridge.

"Hull breaches on all decks along the port side, shields recharging, weapons power severely diminished." Chemistry, the _Mandator_'s AI replied, though his hologram was flickering badly.

"And your core brain?"

"Slightly overheated but nothing severe, sir. I'm fine but moving us back to recov-"

"No! Open fire with everything we have and divert the shield recharge into weapons! Keep up our fire intensity across the battle group for at least another ten minutes, damnit!"

* * *

"My Lord, we have an engagement in sector 21."

"Force size?" Phyron asked as a medical drone continued working on his face. It had been days since he had been forcefully ejected from another flagship by some of the Eclipses magi, but since then he had lost another one to an orbital defense platform.

"Standard battle group, they're putting up quite a fight. Blasting away at anything in range and they're dropping defensive satellites... they're giving our fighters a lot of trouble." an officer replied, Phyron didn't really give a damn which one before he stood up. Everyone in the room that saw him do so cringed given how he had elected to forgo an eye-patch until the battle was over.

"Take the bait, devote more ships to take on this little distraction... I do not want bombardment of the planet surface to stop though."

* * *

Trios of beam cannons were lancing out towards the Eclipse Battle group, sheer heat causing shields to waver as the Republic ships gave back the punishment with everything they could. It had only been five minutes, yet half of the battle group was burning, venting atmosphere, and drifting without engine power while still trying to fire. Those that did were instantly fired upon and either cut into pieces or completely obliterated.

_Mandator _was one of those ships too injured to move properly, but she still kept up the fire. What was left of her turbolaser batteries continued their barrage until they overheated, one cannon actually detonated as the plasma from a shot got overheated on the way out of the gun, blossoming it and coating the rest of the battery in ionized plasma.

"Sir, we need to pull back, we've done all we can." the replacement Ops officer said.

"And what? Let them shoot us in the back?" Terel growled back, still waving smoke out of his face. "No... tell everyone that can to pick a target in front of them and then fire them in tandem with the forward thrusters. Tactical retreat as quickly as possible."

"Forward thrusters are inactive, Admiral..." Chemistry replied.

Terel sighed in reply, his middle and index fingers running circles on his temples as he closed his eyes.

_"If we try to run we get shot in the ass, if we stay here this loss only buys the defense fleet minutes of time..." _he thought, trying to focus and calm his breathing despite the acrid air. After what felt like ages, but was really less than a minute, Terel stood back up and walked to the forward viewport.

"Tell every ship left to fire until they're unable to... fighter and bomber squadrons are to keep flying as long as practical... we're holding a line here."

"Admiral...?"

"Captain Kulth is next in line if I die... Chemistry, com channel please."

"Open sir."

"Fight to the last, men, and die knowing you're protecting your families!"

* * *

"Orbital stations are still moving into position, sir... defensive satellites are all down." Horizon announced.

"And Nelson's ETA?"

"Unknown, they messed around with their hyperdrives so we've lost the exact count."

"Damnit... how is Terel doing?" Jacobs asked, looking up from the table.

"Extreme losses sir, they're all inactive or disabled... the assault bought us time but 50 of our ships are out of the fight permanently." Ops replied.

"Commendations and promotions for all of the survivors... and someone remind me to tell Grand Admiral Nelson that he owes everyone in the system a drink when this is all over."

"I heard that, jackass." Nelson's voice interjected over the com system.

"Ed? Why the sudden com interception?"

"Just getting everything in order." Nelson replied, his form appearing on the holotable in front of his old friend. "Get the fleets ready to open fire with everything they have."

"Sir?"

"I've been studying the battle while stuck here in hyperspace; our stealth is working against us and giving them too much time to recharge their beam weapons. We're breaking cloak, taking the hit on the nose, and charging in like a drunk Wookiee in a Trandoshian slaver camp."

"Roger that, what's your ETA?"

"Look out the viewport."

* * *

Lord Phyron looked out from the bridge of the... hell, he didn't even know. He had lost what must have been four or five flagships since this battle had started and he wasn't going to bother learning the name of this vessel until the battle was won and this 'New Mandalore' was nothing but magma.

Ever since the Arch-Mage had been forced to pull her armies off the planet, Phyron had actually been getting angry at this pitiful little fleet. He had been ordering the more brutal tactics from the House Pyranius playbook and it was working for the most part. His ships were firing randomly into the where they believed the enemy formations were as well as at the surface of the planet.

Phyron gave a feral smile every time he saw a small puff of fire and debris light up as Eclipse ships kept sacrificing themselves to keep the civilians safe.

"All ships, press their defensive lines more. Intercepted coms have reinforcements on their way and I want to focus on them, not these... distractions." he ordered, but no sooner had he issued the order, than 31 beams of pure energy burning a bright orange intersected the Coalition fleet and caused dozens of ships to detonate or completely cease to exist.

"What in Majesty's name was that!?" Phyron barked.

"Eclipse reinforcements; two of them look like flagships... one of them is sending a message on all channels, even ours."

"Patch it through."

* * *

"By the Force..." Admiral Terel mouthed as dozens explosions dotted through the enemy fleet. "What was that?"

"Sir, incoming message on... all channels. It's Grand Admiral Nelson."

"Play it."

* * *

"Talk about good timing..." Jacobs muttered.

"Sir, incoming message from Nelson."

"Go ahead."

* * *

"This is Grand Admiral Nelson of the Eclipse Republic Navy. All ships, stand aside; **we are coming through.**" Nelson proclaimed. As he formed that last word, the remaining 370 ships of the First, Third, and Sixth Fleets made their way through the Transition Gateway, and behind them, the pride of the Eclipse Navy.

The RSSD _Republic_.


	44. Chapter 42

"All reserve power to the engines and forward shields!" Nelson barked as The Rescue Fleet surged forward from the portal. Beam cannons, lasers, missiles, and fighters from both sides painted the black of space every color of the rainbow as shields flared and hull plating melted. Once the opening shots had been fired, Nelson's fleet shot off towards the Coalition position with the _Kindred Spirit _spearheading the assault as fast as her engines would allow.

"All ships; pump weapons fire into shields and engines, hold fire until I give the command. Torcille, Mendez, use HBCs to cover us." Nelson ordered.

"Hammer blow, Ed?" Hannah asked as she held on to the back of his command chair.

"More like a wave. Keep us moving!" he barked again as explosions continued to ripple across his ships shields both from enemy fire and enemy fighters that couldn't get out of the way in time. One beam cannon actually glanced off of her shields, not being able to track fast enough and impacting a trio of frigates and nearly taking out their shields in the process.

"Closing as quickly as we can, Admiral." Joshua replied. "Shields holding at 58%."

"Keep the shields up until we're in range, whatever it takes."

"Down to 40%!"

"Reroute weapons power into the forward shields, we won't need them until we're in range." Nelson told him, letting a hint of a smile as the 50 HBC turrets lining the hull of the _Republic _continued to lay down 'cover fire' to disorient the enemy fleet long enough for the hammer to meet the anvil.

"Cover fire withering sir." Ops announced.

"ETA with the target?"

"Less than a minute."

"Cut engine and shield power and dump it into weapons the moment we make contact."

"Isn't that a little ri-"

"Just do it!" Nelson growled, looking over to the holobank next to his command chair. "Trust me, Joshua."

"... Aye sir, preparing energy transfer now." the AI replied, giving a knowing nod to Nelson and disappearing from view.

"40 seconds!"

"Alert all ships to do the same... open fire on my mark..."

"Com channels open across the fleet. Mendez is moving into position above the battlefield." Joshua stated.

"Countdown on screen please." Nelson said, looking up at it next to the fleet markers. Quietly he closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, counted to five, and opened his eyes.

"All ships reroute power now! Engines and shields into weapons and open fire with everything you've got!"

* * *

To anyone who could see the _Kindred Spirit _as she flew through the enemy fleet, regardless of which side they were on, the sight was beautiful in a deadly sense. There she was, flying straight into an enemy cluster of hundreds of ships with her guns firing at full blast as fast as possible.

And all while she was pulling off a slow, almost elegant, Aileron roll so her Mass Driver broadsides, torpedo tubes, and concussion missile bays had more targets. Every imaginable type of Eclipse ship-to-ship weaponry was firing off at full speed while her momentum carried her forward. Coalition lasers and missiles blasted her hull, damaging the armor if they managed to hit though doing nothing more than superficial damage given half of them glanced.

Behind her, The Rescue Fleet was emulating her tactic, though most skipped out on the rolling portion given their lack of broadsides, letting their turbolaser banks get better firing solutions as shields flared, hull plating buckled, and internal explosions rippled through any Coalition ship unfortunate enough to be hit constantly by the flow of Republic ships.

It was a beautiful and deadly dance, a pirouette of destruction, a cyclone of wrath.

Nelson's Wrath.

* * *

"Guns operating at 300% power." the Weapons officer said.

"Coolant systems working in overdrive, we're stable."

"First phase burning and down." Ops announced.

"Second phase faltering sir, fleet is moving into phase 3." Joshua added.

"Reset power, shields and engines back online. Engines, even us out and activate the dorsal thrusters, get us below the fleet and get us a firing solution for the main gun. Lucky-7, you ready to go?"

"Ready to launch under the cover of plasma, Admiral." Kaylin's excited voice replied.

"Mark!" Nelson barked again. In one fluid motion, his ship righted itself and 'plummeted' towards the bottom of the battlefield, moving down equally before the thrusters at the bow of the ship cut off and she oriented herself to face guns up.

"Sir?" Hannah asked.

"The word is given. All batteries open up!"

* * *

"God **damnit!**" Phyron exclaimed as nearly a third of his fleet suddenly went red on the operational status board. Scratch that, half. "What the hell just happened?"

"Enemy reinforcements and an IFF tag that... is ancient." his Operations Officer replied.

"What's the ID on it?"

"_Grey Ghost_." the officer told him.

"... impossible... that... is impossible. Check a-"

"Triple checked sir, it's her."

"The one that stayed behind..." Phyron murmured. "Disable her but don't destroy her. I want to see if _he_is still aboard."

"And our other orders?"

"Engage as best you can... if we go down, we take every one of these inferiors with us. Do we have a bead on the main flagship?"

"A capital ship below the fleet with significant escort or that super capital."

"Engage both. Have bombers and fighters swarm the super capital, our big ships won't be able to get anywhere near it."

* * *

"Evasive pattern Xesh!" Kaylin barked as she cut her engines and activated the ventral thrusters, boosting her above a trio of enemy point defense missiles. Behind her, the rest of Lucky 7 did the same before speeding off towards the origin of those missiles, a Coalition carrier.

Proton torpedoes and concussion missiles all arced towards the large vessel, specifically targeting weapons batteries and her hangar bays. Kaylin was rewarded with the sight of gun barrels and full launch tubes drifting outwards and bouncing off the inside of the carriers shields.

"If anyone's got shield bypassers that still work, light up those canisters!" Kaylin ordered. Moments later, small Mass Driver fire hit the tubes and detonations started up inside of the carriers shields. With a grin, she pulled Lucky 7 into another bank away from the wounded vessel; it wouldn't be hurting anything for a good hour which was plenty of time for the big boys to come in and finish it off.

"Joshua to Lucky 7."

"Go ahead, Josh."

"You, Orange, and Green Squadrons are being retasked to protect the _Republic_. Enemy fighters and bombers are swarming her and her point defense grid is being strained too much." the AI replied.

"What about the squadrons she's hosting?" Kaylin asked, raising an eyebrow as her ARC-190 blasted off towards the massive flagship.

"Keeping the defense fleets safe while they repair. We can't redeploy them without leaving a thousand damaged ships without protection." Joshua replied.

"Guess its big damn hero time then."

"I'll start up the epic entry music."

* * *

"I repeat! They're massing faster than we thought possible! Any available fighters recall and cover the _Republic_!" Torcille ordered into the com again before sinking into his command chair again. "Status."

"Weapons firing as fast as I can cycle them, sir, but those Coalition fighters are a lot more durable than the bugger models." Omega replied.

"Already dumped reserve and engine power into our shields but they have shield bypassing weaponry too." Alpha added.

"Hull armor around the bridge is weakening by the second, sir. I highly suggest evacuating to the emergency command center." Revan stated from his holobank at the front of the bridge.

"We move one station at a time." Torcille said, nodding at the hologram. "I don't want us all going at the same time and leaving every station on lockdown for a good five minutes. Weapons, you first while Omega takes over."

"Aye sir." the Senior Weapons Officer replied, motioning for those under his command to pack up and head down into the center of the ship. The Emergency Command Center was in the belly of the ship, near her center so that taking her out was nearly impossible and was only for use when the bridge was in immediate danger of being breached. Most would wonder why they wouldn't just stay in there where it was more tactically secure, but because all the data was brought in by external cameras, they'd slowly be blinded and lose the advantage.

"What about you, sir?" Revan asked.

"I stay until everyone is evacuated."

"Pride or honor?" Omega quipped.

"I will not retreat to definite safety while my bridge crew is in danger, Omega... Nelson wouldn't, and neither will I."

* * *

"Shields buckling again, sir." Joshua announced.

"Pump more into them if you can but keep focused on making sure the _Spirit _stays mobile." Nelson replied.

"Sir, enemy flagship closing in and trying to get a targeting vector on us."

"Bring us about then and get the main gun ready for another shot." Nelson ordered and in reply, the _Kindred Spirit _broke off from the formation she was heading, moving off towards the Coalition flagship that was trying to get a beam cannon aimed at her.

"All forward batteries, light her up."

The duel between the RAS _Kindred Spirit_ and CFS-P _Reaper _was an anomaly in the Battle for New Mandalore. Both ships focused their weapons solely on each other and oddly enough, no ships from their respective sides fired into the fray. Laser, mass drivers, turbolaser, and ion weaponry discharged as fast as both ships could muster before Joshua noticed an energy spike coming from the bow of the enemy ship.

Emergency thrusters and the beam cannon fired at the same time, resulting in a near miss. Seconds later the main gun on the _Spirit_ fired in return and proved that the captain of the _Reaper _either had the balls of a wookiee or was very sure of the shields his ship possessed as plasma spread all over the front of the Coalition flagship.

Her reply in turn, was equally devastating as dozens of Coalition Cluster Warheads arced towards Nelson's ship. Each warhead at the halfway point burst into dozens of missiles about the size of an ARC-190's fuselage and when they were less than 20 kilometers away, each of those smaller missiles burst into dozens of micro-missiles barely three meters long and half a meter in diameter at the widest point. The point defense systems on board the _Kindred Spirit_were over-tasked immediately and 98% of the micro-missiles impacted her shields, flaring them for a millisecond before they shut down.

Three turbolaser batteries and an ion cannon array was disabled by the remaining ordinance just as the plasma shot from the megacannon blast finally caused the _Reaper_'s shields to shut down as well. Both captains, sensing opportunity, renewed their attacks with as much fervor as before with the only difference between the initial engagement being the detonating of rounds on heavy hull armor instead of the familiar cyan flare of shields.

"Keep up the fire and get our shields back up!" Nelson barked as another trio of laser hits lead up the side of the hull. He had been so focused these past minutes that he was still oblivious to the blinking red light coming from the _Republic_'s IFF marker on the tactical screen.

"Trying sir but the reactors are already straining." Joshua replied.

"Just do the best you can an-"

"Ed..." Hannah interjected.

"What is it?"

"Torcille's on the horn..."

"Patch him through; Joshua keep us moving." Nelson replied before Torcille's bloody face appeared on the main screen. "Golt..."

"Admiral... they hit the _Republic_'s bridge hard... half the command crew is gone... and I'm not far behind..."

"Wha..." Nelson began before Joshua brought in an external camera from a nearby frigate. The bridge was blasted out and the surrounding armor was pockmarked by missile strikes and warhead detonations yet her shields were still up. _"Shield bypassers on their fighters..."_

"Revan is in command of my ship until this engagement is over, Ed... I'm... I'm sorry..." Torcille added before the feed cut and another explosion tore into the _Kindred Spirit_.

"They just got a major hit on our engines sir! Emergency thrusters are spent and we're drifting." Joshua announced, worry actually creeping into his tone.

"Get backup here ASAP!"

"Already hailing but they're charging another beam shot. Sir, we will not make it if we get hit again."

"Sir our communications are straining, no one's in range to provide cover fire or drive that ship off!"

"Admiral, what do we do?"

"Ed, think of something."

"They're preparing to fire!"

"Stow it!" Nelson finally barked as he stood up from his chair. "We sit... and wait..."

"Ed..." Hannah murmured as she walked up next to him.

"I'm beat... Golt is... he...gone..."

"Five seconds, sir." Joshua stated. "It's... it's been an honor."

Ed and Hannah both closed their eyes in acceptance as the light from the prow of the _Reaper_ got brighter and brighter before the _Kindred Spirit _was rocked by an explosion and blasted back. In front of her, a Keldabe BattleCarrier was burning with a hole through her center before her engines detonated.

"Joshua... ID that ship and tell me what the hell happened?"

"They initiated a micro hyperspace jump and took the hit for us." Joshua replied, "ID... _Iron Will_..."

The silence that fell upon the bridge of the RAS _Kindred Spirit_was so tense that even Joshua felt it through the bridge sensors. Hannah was holding onto his arm tightly before noticing that Nelson's hands had balled into fists and his hair seemed to have lost its weight.

"What... was the ID tag... of that Keldabe..." he growled.

"_I... Iron Will_... sir..." Joshua replied again as the Admiral looked up to see a glowing debris field and the Coalition ship they had been facing now nursing her own wounds from the debris. Nelson didn't respond this time, his breathing getting heavier and heavier by the second while the deck plating beneath him started to warp and buckle.

"...Everyone clear the bridge..." Hannah ordered quietly as she took a step back, feeling her husband's Force signature start warping and getting larger. "Now!"

No one had to be told twice as they scrambled for the exits. They had just gotten outside and sealed the door behind them when Joshua brought up the camera feed; all around the Grand Admiral, the deck plating, his command chair, anything caught in the now very visible radius of unrestrained Force energy was getting warped, destroyed, or both before he extended his hand and blasted out the main viewport. His helmet automatically closed when the atmosphere blasted out and his boots magnetized quickly before he was sucked into space.

Ahead of him, the _Reaper_ began tilting like a capsizing naval vessel from ancient times before her engines simultaneously detonated, right when the roof of the _Kindred Spirit_'s bridge was blasted out. Once the engines exploded, her main gun, followed shortly by every other weapon aboard the Coalition flagship started bending out of shape or just all out disintegrated.

**"YOU SONS OF BITCHES! YOU MURDERED MY GODFATHER!"**

* * *

"Status report!" Phyron spat as his ship continued to get torn apart by the energy spike on board the enemy flagship ahead of him. Something, or more accurately some mage, on that ship was tearing his latest flagship to pieces with nothing but his powers.

"The ship is lost, those engine detonations started a chain reaction that will take the engine room within five minutes!" the engineering officer reported in an extremely panicked tone.

"Get everyone to the escape pods, evacuate now." Phyron ordered as the bridge started to close in around him with a distinctive crunching noise as the metal warped unnaturally.

"What about you, my lord?" one of the bridge crew members asked as he started out the door.

"I'm going to face our enemy and kill him honorably."

* * *

Nelson was now floating, both because of how much of the Force was flowing through him as well as the fact that the deck underneath him was nothing more than shattered metal and loose wires. He continued to rip the enemy ship apart piece by piece, arms working frantically to make those bastards pay for what they had done to his oldest friends.

It wasn't until the _Reaper _detonated in a large fireball that his breathing finally steadied and he floated back down onto what was left of the floor. Once back down, he dropped to his knees, staring at what was left of his bridge. His breathing was ragged and interrupted by the occasional cough and he spent what must have been minutes just kneeling there in the ruins of the flagship of the Republic Navy.

And then he was sent flying back against the bulkhead at the rear of the bridge by a shockwave from an impact. Nelson was lucky that there was minimal gravity and was able to land on his feet and get a look at what had just hit his bridge.

"You there! Mage!" a massive man in equally, almost comically, large and thick armor barked at him. "You destroyed my ship!"

"And you murdered the man who raised me..." Nelson growled.

"Then you have reason to give it your all." the one-eyed Coalition officer spat while Nelson's Force aura spiked exponentially again, "Come, whelp... face death honorably."

"All reserve power to the engines an forward shields!" Nelson barked as The Rescue Fleet surged forward from the portal. Beam cannons, lasers, missiles, and fighters from both sides painted the black of space every color of the rainbow as shields flared and hull plating melted. Once the opening shots had been fired, Nelson's fleet shot off towards the Coalition position with the _Kindred Spirit_spearheading the assault as fast as her engines would allow.

"All ships; pump weapons fire into shields and engines, hold fire until I give the command. Torcille, Mendez, use HBCs to cover us." Nelson ordered.

"Hammer blow, Ed?" Hannah asked as she held on to the back of his command chair.

"More like a wave. Keep us moving!" he barked again as explosions continued to ripple across his ships shields both from enemy fire and enemy fighters that couldn't get out of the way in time. One beam cannon actually glanced off of her shields, not being able to track fast enough and impacting a trio of frigates and nearly taking out their shields in the process.

"Closing as quickly as we can, Admiral." Joshua replied. "Shields holding at 58%."

"Keep the shields up until we're in range, whatever it takes."

"Down to 40%!"

"Reroute weapons power into the forward shields, we won't need them until we're in range." Nelson told him, letting a hint of a smile as the 50 HBC turrets lining the hull of the _Republic_continued to lay down 'cover fire' to disorient the enemy fleet long enough for the hammer to meet the anvil.

"Cover fire withering sir." Ops announced.

"ETA with the target?"

"Less than a minute."

"Cut engine and shield power and dump it into weapons the moment we make contact."

"Isn't that a little ri-"

"Just do it!" Nelson growled, looking over to the holobank next to his command chair. "Trust me, Joshua."

"... Aye sir, preparing energy transfer now." the AI replied, giving a knowing nod to Nelson and disappearing from view.

"40 seconds!"

"Alert all ships to do the same... open fire on my mark..."

"Com channels open across the fleet. Mendez is moving into position above the battlefield." Joshua stated.

"Countdown on screen please." Nelson said, looking up at it next to the fleet markers. Quietly he closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, counted to five, and opened his eyes.

"All ships reroute power now! Engines and shields into weapons and open fire with everything you've got!"

* * *

To anyone who could see the _Kindred Spirit _as she flew through the enemy fleet, regardless of which side they were on, the sight was beautiful in a deadly sense. There she was, flying straight into an enemy cluster of hundreds of ships with her guns firing at full blast as fast as possible.

And all while she was pulling off a slow, almost elegant, Aileron roll so her Mass Driver broadsides, torpedo tubes, and concussion missile bays had more targets. Every imaginable type of Eclipse ship-to-ship weaponry was firing off at full speed while her momentum carried her forward. Coalition lasers and missiles blasted her hull, damaging the armor if they managed to hit though doing nothing more than superficial damage given have of them glanced.

Behind her, The Rescue Fleet was emulating her tactic, though most skipped out on the rolling portion given their lack of broadsides, letting their turbolaser banks get better firing solutions as shields flared, hull plating buckled, and internal explosions rippled through any Coalition ship unfortunate enough to be hit constantly by the flow of Republic ships.

It was a beautiful and deadly dance, a pirouette of destruction, a cyclone of wrath.

Nelson's Wrath.

* * *

"Guns operating at 300% power." the Weapons officer said.

"Coolant systems working in overdrive, we're stable."

"First phase burning and down." Ops announced.

"Second phase faltering sir, fleet is moving into phase 3." Joshua added.

"Reset power, shields and engines back online. Engines, even us out and activate the dorsal thrusters, get us below the fleet and get us a firing solution for the main gun. Lucky-7, you ready to go?"

"Ready to launch under the cover of plasma, Admiral." Kaylin's excited voice replied.

"Mark!" Nelson barked again. In one fluid motion, his ship righted itself and 'plummeted' towards the bottom of the battlefield, moving down equally before the thrusters at the bow of the ship cut off and she oriented herself to face guns up.

"Sir?" Hannah asked.

"The word is given. All batteries open up!"

* * *

"God **damnit!**" Phyron exclaimed as nearly a third of his fleet suddenly went red on the operational status board. Scratch that, half. "What the hell just happened?"

"Enemy reinforcements and an IFF tag that... is ancient." his Operations Officer replied.

"What's the ID on it?"

"_Grey Ghost_." the officer told him.

"... impossible... that... is impossible. Check a-"

"Triple checked sir, it's her."

"The one that stayed behind..." Phyron murmured. "Disable her but don't destroy her. I want to see if _he_is still aboard."

"And our other orders?"

"Engage as best you can... if we go down, we take every one of these inferiors with us. Do we have a bead on the main flagship?"

"A capital ship below the fleet with significant escort or that super capital."

"Engage both. Have bombers and fighters swarm the super capital, our big ships won't be able to get anywhere near it."

* * *

"Evasive pattern Xesh!" Kaylin barked as she cut her engines and activated the ventral thrusters, boosting her above a trio of enemy point defense missiles. Behind her, the rest of Lucky 7 did the same before speeding off towards the origin of those missiles, a Coalition carrier.

Proton torpedoes and concussion missiles all arced towards the large vessel, specifically targeting weapons batteries and her hangar bays. Kaylin was rewarded with the sight of gun barrels and full launch tubes drifting outwards and bouncing off the inside of the carriers shields.

"If anyone's got shield bypassers that still work, light up those canisters!" Kaylin ordered. Moments later, small Mass Driver fire hit the tubes and detonations started up inside of the carriers shields. With a grin, she pulled Lucky 7 into another bank away from the wounded vessel; it wouldn't be hurting anything for a good hour which was plenty of time for the big boys to come in and finish it off.

"Joshua to Lucky 7."

"Go ahead, Josh."

"You, Orange, and Green Squadrons are being retasked to protect the _Republic_. Enemy fighters and bombers are swarming her and her point defense grid is being strained too much." the AI replied.

"What about the squadrons she's hosting?" Kaylin asked, raising an eyebrow as her ARC-190 blasted off towards the massive flagship.

"Keeping the defense fleets safe while they repair. We can't redeploy them without leaving a thousand damaged ships without protection." Joshua replied.

"Guess its big damn hero time then."

"I'll start up the epic entry music."

* * *

"I repeat! They're massing faster than we thought possible! Any available fighters recall and cover the _Republic_!" Torcille ordered into the com again before sinking into his command chair again. "Status."

"Weapons firing as fast as I can cycle them, sir, but those Coalition fighters are a lot more durable than the bugger models." Omega replied.

"Already dumped reserve and engine power into our shields but they have shield bypassing weaponry too." Alpha added.

"Hull armor around the bridge is weakening by the second, sir. I highly suggest evacuating to the emergency command center." Revan stated from his holobank at the front of the bridge.

"We move one station at a time." Torcille said, nodding at the hologram. "I don't want us all going at the same time and leaving every station on lockdown for a good five minutes. Weapons, you first while Omega takes over."

"Aye sir." the Senior Weapons Officer replied, motioning for those under his command to pack up and head down into the center of the ship. The Emergency Command Center was in the belly of the ship, near her center so that taking her out was nearly impossible and was only for use when the bridge was in immediate danger of being breached. Most would wonder why they wouldn't just stay in there where it was more tactically secure, but because all the data was brought in by external cameras, they'd slowly be blinded and lose the advantage.

"What about you, sir?" Revan asked.

"I stay until everyone is evacuated."

"Pride or honor?" Omega quipped.

"I will not retreat to definite safety while my bridge crew is in danger, Omega... Nelson wouldn't, and neither will I."

* * *

"Shields buckling again, sir." Joshua announced.

"Pump more into them if you can but keep focused on making sure the _Spirit_stays mobile." Nelson replied.

"Sir, enemy flagship closing in and trying to get a targeting vector on us."

"Bring us about then and get the main gun ready for another shot." Nelson ordered and in reply, the _Kindred Spirit_broke off from the formation she was heading, moving off towards the Coalition flagship that was trying to get a beam cannon aimed at her.

"All forward batteries, light her up."

The duel between the RAS _Kindred Spirit_ and CFS-P _Reaper_was an anomaly in the Battle for New Mandalore. Both ships focused their weapons solely on each other and oddly enough, no ships from their respective sides fired into the fray. Laser, mass drivers, turbolaser, and ion weaponry discharged as fast as both ships could muster before Joshua noticed an energy spike coming from the bow of the enemy ship.

Emergency thrusters and the beam cannon fired at the same time, resulting in a near miss. Seconds later the main gun on the _Spirit_ fired in return and proved that the captain of the _Reaper_either had the balls of a wookiee or was very sure of the shields his ship possessed as plasma spread all over the front of the Coalition flagship.

Her reply in turn, was equally devastating as dozens of Coalition Cluster Warheads arced towards Nelson's ship. Each warhead at the halfway point burst into dozens of missiles about the size of an ARC-190's fuselage and when they were less than 20 kilometers away, each of those smaller missiles burst into dozens of micro-missiles barely three meters long and half a meter in diameter at the widest point. The point defense systems on board the _Kindred Spirit_were over-tasked immediately and 98% of the micro-missiles impacted her shields, flaring them for a millisecond before they shut down.

Three turbolaser batteries and an ion cannon array was disabled by the remaining ordinance just as the plasma shot from the megacannon blast finally caused the _Reaper_'s shields to shut down as well. Both captains, sensing opportunity, renewed their attacks with as much fervor as before with the only difference between the initial engagement being the detonating of rounds on heavy hull armor instead of the familiar cyan flare of shields.

"Keep up the fire and get our shields back up!" Nelson barked as another trio of laser hits lead up the side of the hull. He had been so focused these past minutes that he was still oblivious to the blinking red light coming from the _Republic_'s IFF marker on the tactical screen.

"Trying sir but the reactors are already straining." Joshua replied.

"Just do the best you can an-"

"Ed..." Hannah interjected.

"What is it?"

"Torcille's on the horn..."

"Patch him through; Joshua keep us moving." Nelson replied before Torcille's bloody face appeared on the main screen. "Golt..."

"Admiral... they hit the _Republic_'s bridge hard... half the command crew is gone... and I'm not far behind..."

"Wha..." Nelson began before Joshua brought in an external camera from a nearby frigate. The bridge was blasted out and the surrounding armor was pockmarked by missile strikes and warhead detonations yet her shields were still up. _"Shield bypassers on their fighters..."_

"Revan is in command of my ship until this engagement is over, Ed... I'm... I'm sorry..." Torcille added before the feed cut and another explosion tore into the _Kindred Spirit_.

"They just got a major hit on our engines sir! Emergency thrusters are spent and we're drifting." Joshua announced, worry actually creeping into his tone.

"Get backup here ASAP!"

"Already hailing but they're charging another beam shot. Sir, we will not make it if we get hit again."

"Sir our communications are straining, no one's in range to provide cover fire or drive that ship off!"

"Admiral, what do we do?"

"Ed, think of something."

"They're preparing to fire!"

"Stow it!" Nelson finally barked as he stood up from his chair. "We sit... and wait..."

"Ed..." Hannah murmured as she walked up next to him.

"I'm beat... Golt is... he...gone..."

"Five seconds, sir." Joshua stated. "It's... it's been an honor."

Ed and Hannah both closed their eyes in acceptance as the light from the prow of the _Reaper_ got brighter and brighter before the _Kindred Spirit_was rocked by an explosion and blasted back. In front of her, a Keldabe BattleCarrier was burning with a hole through her center before her engines detonated.

"Joshua... ID that ship and tell me what the hell happened?"

"They initiated a micro hyperspace jump and took the hit for us." Joshua replied, "ID... _Iron Will_..."

The silence that fell upon the bridge of the RAS _Kindred Spirit_was so tense that even Joshua felt it through the bridge sensors. Hannah was holding onto his arm tightly before noticing that Nelson's hands had balled into fists and his hair seemed to have lost its weight.

"What... was the ID tag... of that Keldabe..." he growled.

"_I... Iron Will_... sir..." Joshua replied again as the Admiral looked up to see a glowing debris field and the Coalition ship they had been facing now nursing her own wounds from the debris. Nelson didn't respond this time, his breathing getting heavier and heavier by the second while the deck plating beneath him started to warp and buckle.

"...Everyone clear the bridge..." Hannah ordered quietly as she took a step back, feeling her husband's Force signature start warping and getting larger. "Now!"

No one had to be told twice as they scrambled for the exits. They had just gotten outside and sealed the door behind them when Joshua brought up the camera feed; all around the Grand Admiral, the deck plating, his command chair, anything caught in the now very visible radius of unrestrained Force energy was getting warped, destroyed, or both before he extended his hand and blasted out the main viewport. His helmet automatically closed when the atmosphere blasted out and his boots magnetized quickly before he was sucked into space.

Ahead of him, the _Reaper_ began tilting like a capsizing naval vessel from ancient times before her engines simultaneously detonated, right when the roof of the _Kindred Spirit_'s bridge was blasted out. Once the engines exploded, her main gun, followed shortly by every other weapon aboard the Coalition flagship started bending out of shape or just all out disintegrated.

**"YOU SONS OF BITCHES! YOU MURDERED MY GODFATHER!"**

* * *

"Status report!" Phyron spat as his ship continued to get torn apart by the energy spike on board the enemy flagship ahead of him. Something, or more accurately some mage, on that ship was tearing his latest flagship to pieces with nothing but his powers.

"The ship is lost, those engine detonations started a chain reaction that will take the engine room within five minutes!" the engineering officer reported in an extremely panicked tone.

"Get everyone to the escape pods, evacuate now." Phyron ordered as the bridge started to close in around him with a distinctive crunching noise as the metal warped unnaturally.

"What about you, my lord?" one of the bridge crew members asked as he started out the door.

"I'm going to face our enemy and kill him honorably."

* * *

Nelson was now floating, both because of how much of the Force was flowing through him as well as the fact that the deck underneath him was nothing more than shattered metal and loose wires. He continued to rip the enemy ship apart piece by piece, arms working frantically to make those bastards pay for what they had done to his oldest friends.

It wasn't until the _Reaper _detonated in a large fireball that his breathing finally steadied and he floated back down onto what was left of the floor. Once back down, he dropped to his knees, staring at what was left of his bridge. His breathing was ragged and interrupted by the occasional cough and he spent what must have been minutes just kneeling there in the ruins of the flagship of the Republic Navy.

And then he was sent flying back against the bulkhead at the rear of the bridge by a shockwave from an impact. Nelson was lucky that there was minimal gravity and was able to land on his feet and get a look at what had just hit his bridge.

"You there! Mage!" a massive man in equally, almost comically, large and thick armor barked at him. "You destroyed my ship!"

"And you murdered the man who raised me..." Nelson growled.

"Then you have reason to give it your all." the one-eyed Coalition officer spat while Nelson's Force aura spiked exponentially again, "Come, whelp... face death honorably."


	45. Chapter 43

Every console, chair, and inch of remaining floor plating shattered into small shards before becoming a hurricane of debris that was being hurled one chunk at a time at Lord Phyron whenever Nelson made a punching motion towards the Coalition officer. Phyron shielded his face from the shrapnel barrage with a single hand, his other reaching for the hilt of his blade.

_"Anger must fuel his power... simply need to outlast his rage..."_Phyron thought as he brought his blade to bear and properly deflected what pieces of debris he could, not noticing the nicks and scratches he was accumulating on his face and neck. It wasn't until the barrage stopped that he looked out beyond his dark blade to see Nelson's fist heading straight for his head. Around his hand though, dark crimson energy was manifesting itself so that his fist was leaving a trail through the minimal atmosphere that the emergency shielding was maintaining.

Phyron caught his adversary's fist deftly with an outstretched palm before his sword was knocked aside and he felt a blow land on his chin. The stinging subsided immediately before he caught the next blow as well only to let his curiosity get the better of him. This man couldn't be more than six feet in height, yet Phyron was standing at ten; the gravity might have been deactivated but it he still felt the pull of the ship keeping his boots to the floor.

* * *

"By the Force..." Hannah muttered as she continued watching the live feed of the duel via her HUD. The Admiral was floating above the floor, the same crimson aura that was pulsing around his hands were also around his feet and spreading up his legs and arms... she could even swear that she could see his eyes glowing behind his helmet.

She got confirmation when Phyron headbutted Nelson and cracked his faceplate, causing most of it to crack and fall off. More words were exchanged before Ed let off a Force Wave in all directions, rippling the bridge around him and sending Phyron back a few meters into and out of the blasted out viewport. Unfortunately, he had boosters in his boots and he flew straight at Nelson like a superhuman missile.

Hannah barely got out of the way as they blasted through the bulkhead separating the bridge from the rest of the command deck. The traveled the length of the hallway before smashing into the central turbolift and finally coming to a halt when Nelson planted his feet and plenty of Force energy behind him and landed an uppercut on Phyron's jaw that halted his momentum and stunned him for a moment.

The next five minutes felt like five hours to Hannah as she watched her husband and that monster of a man trade blows in a no-holds-barred fist fight. Each second that passed, his body was enveloped in more and more Force energy before she joined in as well, grabbing both of her sabers and diving into the fray.

"You tangle with one Nelson, you tangle with both of us!"

* * *

"What the hell is going on over there?" Admiral Mendez asked as he walked towards the forward viewscreen. He had gotten word only seconds ago that _Iron Will_ was gone and that Admiral Torcille was gone, and now the _Spirit_was losing power due to what he could only guess was the cause of the Force disturbance that a Knight aboard his bridge kept yammering on about.

"We're having trouble piecing it together. One moment the _Kindred Spirit_is about to be blown to pieces, the next moment the Coalition ship firing upon it blows up after a Force Aura flared up as if every Knight in the Republic decided to meditate at the same time." a tactical droid in the room replied.

"Get me in contact with Nelson."

"No direct link available... Joshua is reporting that Grand Admiral _Nelson_is the disturbance you're sensing."

"... get me a video uplink, I want to see what's going on."

"Joshua is already patching us in as best he can." another officer replied as the holotable in the middle of the bridge sprang to life, showing a terrifying display of Force and physical strength that was tearing the command deck of the _Kindred Spirit_apart.

"Dear lord..." Mendez muttered as he watched, "Someone get Chris on the horn."

"Already listening and watching, sir." the Centurion replied, his voice filtering in over the intercom. "Orders?"

"Grab a platoon of Centurions and head to Hangar D-1. You're going to give the Nelson's some help."

* * *

Hannah let lightning torrent from her hands as she continued to weave back and forth around the melee. Phyron didn't quite notice, but he did find the continuing electrocution was starting to mess with his nervous system to the point where Nelson was landing more and more blows to his head.

Feeling that enough was enough, he planted his fist in the deck bellow him, causing a shockwave that sent both Nelsons flying back, though Ed held his ground fairly well before Phyron landed an uppercut on his jaw and nearly implanted the Admiral in the ceiling.

Nelson countered quickly by sending Force Wave into the massive mans chest that sent him back into the bridge and through the holotable. Phyron rolled just in time to dodge Nelson slamming down onto the wrecked table as hard as he could, breaking down through and landing three decks below. The lull in the fight didn't last long though; by the time Phyron got back to his feet, Nelson had already shot back up to the bridge and renewed his assault, only to be buffeted by a trio of hits that beat Nelson back onto his feet and into Hannah's arms.

She pushed him back up before leaping forward herself, slicing at Phyron's neck and barely missing his grip while spinning through the air and landing behind him. She narrowly dodged his foot as it outstretched behind him in a vain attempt to strike at the woman who had so effectively been hindering his efforts in this brawl.

"This match is between me and the mage, woman!" he growled.

"You mess with my husband, you mess with me you bastard." she spat back, still running around like a corvette trying to hurt a capital ship while the Admiral went back to trading blows with Lord Phyron.

* * *

Alpha Centurion Chris-Z9571 stood in a small logistics hangar of the _Grey Ghost_with a platoon of Beta Centurions behind him. Each was equipped with a jetpack as well as the standard boosters in the heels of their boots, same as Chris. The main difference between Z9571 was that he was roughly two feet taller than the Betas and his armor wasn't nearly as customized as theirs; no paint other than the Alliance Emblem on the left of his chest, and the Eclipse Republic emblem on the right.

"Ready to go, Chris?" Tom asked via his internal helmet speakers.

"Ready as we'll ever be... hangar pressurized properly?"

"Just about, another few seconds and then we'll just be waiting for Mendez to give me the all clear to show you and the others how drop pods feel."

"Lovely... remind me how you came up-"

"Mark!" Tom exclaimed as the shields that kept the hangar's atmosphere in dropped and the hangar, empty of everything but the platoon of Centurions, explosively decompressed. Chris and the others were shot out like missiles out of a firing tube and even created their own contrails as they activated their jetpacks to accelerate even more as well as navigate.

_"Gonna kill that smartass when I get back..."_ Chris thought with a small smirk as he and the rest of his team continued to rocket towards their target; the RAS _Kindred Spirit_.

* * *

Phyron beat Nelson back once more, finally getting to the point where he was panting after such a long week of combat mixed with this sudden use of his energy reserves.

"You... are indeed formidable... but it is all for naught, whelp... you, and nothing at your disposal, can defeat me."

"Nothing..." Nelson muttered back before noticing a set of contrails heading straight for the bridge. With what was left of his HUD he had Joshua identify the missile and let a grin crawl onto his face. "Nothing at all... really? How about a Centurion?"

"A Cent-" Phyron began to say before he turned to look at what Nelson was staring at. He was cut off as Chris' fist impacted the side of his head that was missing an eye. The Centurion followed through, letting himself land and roll hard on the deck before springing up into a ready position with the rest of the super soldiers in front of Admiral and Field Marshall Nelson.

"Sir, Mendez sends his regards as well as some much needed backup." Chris announced, not bothering with a salute as he heard a growl emanate from the man he had just clocked as hard as he could.

"Christopher... Horanius... Phyron..." the Coalition Lord growled as he stood up and snapped his neck back into place, "I see you're still alive, you ungrateful little _brat_."

"How do you kn... Josiah...? Is that you...?" Chris replied, visibly shocked to the core as he lowered his arms. "You're still alive?"

"Obviously..." Phyron retorted dryly. "Though I'm equally surprised that you're still kicking, brother. Still serving that misguided old fool of an Admiral?"

"He's not... h... how the hell are you still alive? It's been over a thousand years." Chris said, letting his arm cannon rise up again.

"Heh... The Devourer grants gifts upon those who are first born of _pure_blood."

"You're still sore that I got selected."

"You are a runt, a bastard, a **second**... and the gift you were given was not yours to have..." Phyron replied, cracking his knuckles, "I'm going to send you back to Uncle James in a body bag."

"You can try..." Chris spoke, his tone rather dead as Phyron sprang forward only to have Chris' arm cannon intercept his chin and discharge the overcharge shot that he had been preparing since Josiah had began his little rant. From there, it devolved into another brawl as Ed and Hannah launched themselves forward again, entering the fray while the Beta Centurions kept at the ready in case someone got beat out of the Whack-a-Lord session.

"You're going to see that even with what they did to you, you're still not as good as me, brother!" Phyron barked, landing a blow on his younger brother that cracked his visor. Chris replied in kind with a blow to his empty eye socket.

"I don't care you arrogant son of a bitch!" Chris replied, letting his foot reach out and connect with Phyron's jaw and causing his neck to distort again once he hit the deck. "And don't call me 'brother'... you never loved me like one, you might as well drop the title."

"Hehehehahahahaahaa! You think I give a damn about titles?! After Father lorded your name, your number... all of it over me..." Phyron told him, getting back up slowly once more. "Christopher Phyron... the First Centurion... and now the last... or did Abyss let more of you live after we lef-"

Chris decked Phyron once again, cutting him off and breaking the Coalition officer's jaw. Nelson was quick to join in, pouncing on the downed man and punching with unrelenting fervor. By the time Hannah had put a hand on her husband's shoulder to try and calm him, Lord Phyron's armor was cracked and broken in dozens of places, most of his teeth were gone and slowly growing back in, and his nose was bent at a sharp right angle to the left against his face.

"Ed... it's over..." She whispered as his fists began to slow. It wasn't until he finally stopped and his aura began to return to normal that she let herself relax and look down at the once proud Coalition Lord. "We... won..."

"You've won nothing..." Phyron coughed, his words barely understandable due to his broken jaw.

"Come again...?" Ed asked.

"We... are but the heralds... of your doom... one House... of many... we are... the Coalition... and you... insects... are... as good... as _dead_." he replied, emphasizing his last word as he brought his sidearm to bare and fired at both Nelsons. Hannah shoved her husband out of the way and took two blasts full force in the chest, one of which went clean through her.

_**"NO!"**_

"Medbay now!" Chris barked to the Centurion that caught her as he kicked the gun out of Phyron's hand. As he was turning to face Nelson though, he felt... uneasy... like something was changing the very fabric of existence on the bridge. He turned and saw Grand Admiral Nelson floating again, and this time, the waves of Force energy radiating from him were extremely visible.

"Medbay... now! Run! Get out of here!" Chris shouted, sprinting with the rest of his Centurions towards the nearest working turbolift. The last thing he saw before the door closed was Nelson floating a meter in the air with dark crimson energy covering his body.

"You... just made... a _big_... _**MISTAKE!"**_

* * *

The whole ship rocked and started accelerating slowly 'down' relative to the planet as the twenty decks above, below, and nearly 80 feet on every side of the bridge of the _Kindred Spirit_exploded outward in a blast of Force energy that not even Chancellor Tinto had seen before. He sure as hell felt it though, as did every other Knight in the system.

The Arch-Mage shuddered in her command chair aboard a flagship a few million kilometers away.

* * *

The Devourers eyes shot open as he felt a spike the likes he hadn't felt since he had watched the Alliance War a thousand years prior.

"... it appears Abyss isn't the only one that underestimated you..."

* * *

"Holy shit sir, what was _that_!?" one of the Beta Centurions asked.

"The main reason you never piss off Grand Admiral Nelson..." Chris replied quietly. "Have you stabilized her?"

"Still trying but we're pretty sure that the laser bolt missed everything vital... we think. We're not medics, sir."

"Just keep her alive long enough for us to reach medbay. Joshua, status please."

"Medbay still has power and I've already prepped what medics we have left. She has top priority." the AI stated, "Just get her there faster."

"Can you give us any more juice in this lift?"

"Trying, but the reactors are a mess and with what just happened to the bridge..."

"Just keep me posted on Nel-"

"Oh he's still alive; pulsating Force energy like a reactor core an- and he just launched that Coalition Lord into hard vacuum... sans two arms, a leg... and his lower jaw..."

"I don't eve-"

"Me neither but I don't exactly have a choice in the matter." Joshua quipped as the turbolift door opened. It hadn't even completely opened before Chris had bolted out with Field Marshall Nelson in his arms, being as careful as he could while running at nearly 50kph.

* * *

Grand Admiral Edward Nelson slowly lowered to the deck plating 20 decks below where his bridge used to be. His breathing was heavy, his vision was still blurred, his synthetic muscles ached something fierce, and his heart ached more than it had since his uncle betrayed his mother and father.

When his boots finally hit metal, he dropped to his knees and hung his head in both exhaustion and grief. He tried to let himself cry, but his tear ducts came up empty, he must have been letting the waterworks flow the entire time he was trying to make that monster pay for Howard and Golt.

"J... Joshua... can you hear me...?"

"I can sir, your earpiece is still in."

"Is... is H... is sh-"

"Alive. Medics have stabilized her and begun work on the damage as well as more intense scans to make sure that blaster didn't have any unwanted side effects." Joshua told him, getting only a slow nod in reply as Nelson looked out into the debris littered vacuum.

"Ship status...?"

"Crashing sir."

"What!?"

"Engines are out and we're being pulled towards New Mandalore... I'm afraid the _Kindred Spirit_ is going down... ETA with the surface, 20 minutes... I'm sorry Ed, but there's nothing we can do."


	46. Chapter 44

"Allocate all emergency and reserve power into whatever it'll take for us to land somewhat safely." Nelson ordered as he found his way to the turbolift. "Where's Hannah?"

"Medbay, but the emergency shielding is already up around it and I can't deactivate it. I'm afraid you'll be waiting somewhere else whi-"

"Get this lift to the medical deck anyway and get everyone left alive out of any level below Hangar D, we're not losing anyone in this crash."

"I can't guarantee that sir, but I'll do my best." the AI replied as the turbolift began its rapid descent. A few minutes later, Nelson arrived on the medical deck and sprinted out of the lift towards the main medbay, hoping that he would at least be able to find a video feed inside to where his wife was.

That was until he felt the ship shudder violently while the lights and even gravity flickered for a moment.

"Joshua, status."

"Coalition vessels firing on us, friendly forces are driving them off but we were not prepared to take any hit, nevertheless one to our engines... this ride is going to get hairy very quickly, sir."

"Just make sure everyone is strapped in or holding onto something sturdy before we hit the atmosphere." Ed replied, placing a hand on the bulkhead next to him for a moment before the scanner activated and a small screen flipped into view. After punching in a few commands, he had external camera control and with the help of Joshua, could keep track of his ships death.

15 minutes to impact.

* * *

"I don't care what you have to do, you just get those damn response craft in the air and ready to help! Take off from my office if you need to!" Chancellor Tinto barked at the hologram in the center of his office. "She may be crashing but we are _not_losing her completely."

"Sir, we're strained enough as it is." the Captain in charge of the emergency response units on Aurek replied, "The only ships in the area that can help her are keeping the debris from the _Iron Will_from crashing into the orbital defense grid. The rest of my ships were too damaged by Coalition ground troops."

"Then you _find a way_ to help the _Kindred Spirit_land safely."

"I'm sorry, Chancellor... but I just can't. If anything frees up though, Nelson has priority above everything else within reason."

"Within reason?" Tinto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We can't help right now because we're keeping the ODG safe, if something else with top priority, like a ship hurtling towards New Keldabe, we'll protect the capitol before rescuing one ship, no matter how important that ship is." the ERF Captain replied. Tinto simply sighed with a slight nod in return before waving the hologram off and standing back up and walking to the still blown out main window. He 'looked' up into the sky, searching for a trail of smoke and flame while also hoping that he wouldn't sense one.

His wish was left unanswered as a consistent trail of fire appeared in the darkening sky where the stars were replaced by explosions from the dwindling battle upstairs. Morbid constellations dotted the dusk sky as ships from both sides continued to die with frightening regularity.

"Estimated time of impact...?" Tinto asked quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose, both glad that he couldn't actually see the sky, while also regretting that he could sense it on a deeper scale than simple sight.

"10 minutes, sir... still no sign of ERF ships anywhere in range... Nelson is on his own."

* * *

Chris knelt on the medbay floor with his hands on his knees as the ship began to rock and shake violently. Only a few moments before, the medical team had managed to get Field Marshall Nelson into a bacta tank and activated its emergency covers. Each bacta tank in forward combat ships had a durasteel shell that would close around the flexglass in case of emergency in order to make sure that the contents and patient wouldn't be vulnerable.

There were also plenty of restraints inside as well to keep those receiving treatment from hitting the sides in case the ship began evasive maneuvers, or in this case, crashing to the surface of a planet.

The rest of the Centurions and medical staff had strapped in, grabbed a hold of something, or knelt like Chris with their boots and gloves magnetized at max power. One doctor however, was still working fervently with the datapad and wall console connected to Hannah's bacta tank, seeming to either be oblivious to the danger or simply ignoring it for the sake of her patient.

"Doctor, you need to find someplace safe to hold on for the impact." Chris stated.

"Only once she's completely stabilized and once I'm sure my scans are completely accurate." she replied, steadying herself for a moment on the tank before getting back to work. "Joshua, run the scan again please, focus on the abdominal area."

"Trying to multitask as best I can, Dr. Granvic, it's a litt-"

"Take your time and do it right is all I'm asking then put the results on the console and my datapad. If I have to operate once we land I want to get on it as soon as we hit dirt."

"You're unusually calm given the situation, ma'am." one of the Centurions added in.

"I was a field medic for the Empire before I defected, Centurion, I'm used to the ground shaking as I work."

"Field medicine is a bit..." Chris started before the shaking and turbulence got worse, "... different... than navy medicine, if I reca-... recall. Damnit..."

"Yes, but when you're a medic with the Empire that includes on the ships when Rebels board... or at least try to. This is a cake walk compared to having laser fire glance my helmet while I work."

"If you say so, but I mus-"

"Not. Until. The scans. Are complete." the older woman replied, punctuating each bit of her sentence as she continued working, not bothering to turn to face the super soldier. Not that he needed to see her to feel the death glare he would most likely be getting if she wasn't busy anyway, but the atmosphere she was creating was palpable. If this doctor was risking her own life for the Field Marshall, there must have been an adverse effect caused by that Coalition small arm.

_"Should have seen that coming when he monologued... why do they always monologue...?"_Chris thought with a tinge of guilt and amusement at the same time, remembering battles past where he managed to survive simply because Abyss or his cronies would talk too much.

"Oh my..." Dr. Granvic murmured as the ship once again shuddered violently, only this time she started to list given that the left 'wing' had just been ripped off by the re-entry.

"Doctor, I think it mi-"

"I believe you're finally right, Centurion." she replied, not even letting Chris finish as she found the nearest ready chair and strapping herself in. "Joshua, no need to devote anymore of yourself in here minus keeping us all alive."

"Roger... that..." the AI replied, his voice straining as the stress on the ship increased. Though they couldn't tell while inside of the medbay, the heat shielding had failed almost instantly upon impact with the atmosphere and throughout the rest of the ship, crewmen, marines, engineers, and just about anyone else who wasn't native to a warmer climate planet was experiencing more than just uncomfortable heat that not even drop pod specialists were used to.

One such man not quite used to the heat was right outside the protective bulkhead and shielding of the main medbay and watching a wall console as his ship continued its barely controlled descent to the surface of Aurek Site.

Grand Admiral Nelson ignored the heat as best he could, having already punched through the wall as to get a better grip to keep himself from being thrown around like a rag-doll once the hull made contact with solid ground. Needless to say, he was not enjoying his day so far and seeing the left wing of his ship fly off of his ship was not helping. Moments later, what Nelson had left of the command tower started getting ripped to shreds as the ship angled downward more.

"Joshua..."

"Working as best I can but without the shielding... we... are not meant for atmospheric entry..."

"Just keep her level and steady." Nelson replied, doing his best to keep his tone calm despite what his bio-readings were most likely saying. Luckily for them both, Joshua was no longer devoting processing power to the IFF and bio-reading broadcasts across the ship, focusing on keeping the _Kindred Spirit_in one piece for as long as possible.

"Trying my best." Joshua replied, but instead of with the intercom he simply wrote the words on the screen that Nelson had glued his eyes to.

"You're doing fine, just focus on keeping your body alive."

"Then shut up." the words replied. A split-second after Ed had read them, the phrase changed and added a 'Sir' to the end of the phrase. Nelson allowed himself a chuckle before doing as ordered, keeping quiet and vigilant as his ship fell from the sky and the countdown continued.

10 minutes left until impact.

* * *

Corpsman Ramsey and Second Lieutenant Uyon looked up into the sky as a fireball passed by overhead. Rumor was already spreading that it was the _Kindred Spirit_but most of Uyon's platoon didn't believe it for a second. The Flagship of the entire damn navy wouldn't end up on the ground like they had. Nelson wouldn't allow it.

"Think it's really her?" Ramsey asked.

"Maybe... those bastards are hard to kill... never know what could have happened up there..." Uyon replied, stretching his arm a little before Ramsey held it still.

"Don't move it too much if you don't have to. It didn't fully heal before we crashed and that didn't exactly to wonders for you. Uh, sir." she told him, tacking on the sir rather quickly once he gave her a knowing smirk.

"Right right." Uyon finally replied, gently nudging her shoulder with his fist as they and the rest of their platoon continued to watch flame and ash continue to be painted across the sky.

* * *

The turbulence only got worse as they got lower in the atmosphere; so much so that even Chris was having trouble keeping still as the ship continued to rock, shudder, and in many cases scream as armor plating or entire sections of decks and hallways were ripped off the ship and sent flying on their own, creating a debris field that would span hundreds of kilometers once the _Spirit_finally landed.

He even swore they had broken the sound barrier a few moments ago, but he wasn't sure if it was a sonic boom or simply more of the _Spirit_deciding to become their own escape pod and abandon ship.

Granvic on the other hand continued to work with her datapad despite being strapped into a ready chair and barely holding onto it as things got steadily rougher for everyone inside the ship. Whether she was crazy or simply devoted, Chris couldn't tell, maybe a bit of both for the sake of her VIP. He didn't explain what had happened with Grand Admiral Nelson earlier to her but she must have known about his emotional outburst courtesy of Joshua or one of his Centurions when the orderlies were prepping Hannah for treatment.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the ship started to list again, only this time it did so violently and sent him and the part of the deck plating that his boots had magnetized to flying into and far wall, leaving a durasteel angel in the shape of a Centurion imprinted into it. Everyone that saw would have laughed at the spectacle if they weren't all in immediate danger of the same happening to them. Chris on the other hand let himself chuckle between winces as he got comfortable and hunkered down once more. If his HUD was still up to date, they were only five minutes from landfall.

* * *

New Mandalore was not a mountainous planet, being rather flat for the most part with the largest swells in the landscape being hills and the occasional city that dotted the landscape. Between each city and military base though were largely unexplored jungles, forests, deserts, and even tundras; the type of biosphere diversity that most who migrated with the Red Eclipse weren't used to in their old galaxy.

Luckily for New Mandalore's environment though, the _Kindred Spirit_would be making landfall in a grassy plane during the height of the wet season for that hemisphere. It was a lucky break that was welcomed gladly by those who would later research the crash site as well as get records of the battle for the archives, one of the few that the Eclipse was given so far during these first six days of a new war.

Unlike the Crandolian capital ship that had crashed during the Battle of Vev, the _Kindred Spirit_had come in at an angle instead of straight down and while the initial shockwave wouldn't flatten everything within a three mile radius, she would slide for miles before she lost enough momentum for the crust to bring her to a stop.

On Aurex 27th, 5 NRC at 1742 hours, the RAS _Kindred Spirit_made landfall on New Mandalore. She hit the ground hard, digging in a hundred meters into the ground as she continued to slide along her crash path like the ground she was tearing up wasn't even there.

Inside, Nelson was thrown against the emergency shield that kept the medbay safe, Chris barely kept himself from flying again, and Granvic calmly continued reading the datapad in her hand as her body tugged at the chair restraints. All throughout the ship, crew members were either thrown from their chairs and hiding spots against walls and other machinery or their ready chairs had kept them somewhat stationary as the _Spirit_continued her journey, slowing up considerably after nearly five minutes of digging into the ground.

Dirt, chunks of topsoil with grass still in it, boulders buried deep into the ground, and hull plating that was being shredded by the impact were flung into the air while the ship barely slowed. It wasn't until the emergency boosters, an engine technology perfected by the Confederacy during the Clone Wars, put what engines were left into full reverse in an effort to slow Nelson's ship down and keep her from damaging more than the 20 mile scar in the land behind her already.

With some considerable effort by Joshua given how damaged his AI Droid Brain Core was, the _Kindred Spirit_finally came to a complete stop after sliding nearly 48 miles across the surface of New Mandalore. Once what was left of his ship came to a halt, Nelson got back to his feet as best he could, shaking off the disorientation and steadying himself against the wall.

"Status report...?" he muttered. However, he didn't get an answer.

"Status?" he asked again, fear starting to set in a little before a voice chimed in over the intercom.

"Admiral Nelson? This is Engineering... you better get down here to the AI core room..."

* * *

"Someone give me a status update." Nelson said as he slid to a halt into the AI Droid Brain Core room. The room was a mess, smoke was everywhere, soot had coated everything, and those who were working to keep the brain alive were struggling to even work as wall and ceiling panels kept dripping down onto them. They had melted from the intense heat.

"Here, sir, Chief Engineer Suwlpha." a man in coveralls replied from his position on the droid brain. "The coolant system failed halfway down... Overheating, too much physical and processing stress, external and internal damage... some of the components have even melted together."

"How much longer does he have?" Nelson asked, not bothering to hide the worry on his face.

"Notttttt long siirrrrrr..." a glitchy and static filled voice replied as Joshua's hologram, although not with very clear consistency from the holo-emmiter, appeared.

"Joshua... I..." Nelson began before he lowered his head quietly. "I'm sorry, old friend..."

"Noo... nnnnneed tototototot- be sorrrrrry... Ed... what... conttttact I am still receiving... shows enemmmmmmmmy forces retreating... fu... ll retreat... you. Won..."

"We won... we all won..."

"That... weeeeeeeeeee did, Sir."

"But at too high a cost..."

"Necessary. Necessaaaaaaaary for survival... I... am not... no... regrets..." the AI added, his avatar smiling a little, though it was barely visible with how his hologram was still shifting randomly. "Already... backed up memories... but... goingggggg into staaaaaaaaaaaa-sis... preserve myself... though... willbegone."

"Josh... n... no... I... damnit Joshua I _can't_lose you again!" Nelson cried out, fists balling up and his aura spiking again.

"Edward... you... are noooooooot losing me... again... simply... taking nap... extended... sleeeeeeeep." Joshua replied, "Not. Goodbye."

"... simply good night..." the Admiral finished. As he said the words, he calmed down once more.

"Youuuuuuuu know IIIIIIIIIam not him... anymore... buttttttt memories. Still. INtacT someWHAT!" the AI told him, his avatar taking a knee. "He wouldddddddd be and I ammmmmmmmmm so... so proud... Ed... you... of you."

"I-" Nelson began to say before Joshua held up a hand and did his best to compose his avatar and core despite seeing the most powerful man in the Republic actually crying.

"You... made me proud... son..." the AI, one of the only AIs in the galaxies based off of the memories of an organic sentient, shut down and went into self-induced stasis; and with him, the RAS _Kindred Spirit_ was truly and completely dead.


	47. Chapter 45

Lord Phyron drifted in vacuum with four small trails of crystallized blood following him connected to his shoulder stumps, his left knee, and the bottom half of his face. That Mage... that incredibly powerful mage had taken quite a toll on him. His energy reserves were almost depleted and the only thing keeping him alive was the fact that he didn't need to breathe and that his wounds had already frozen over to keep him from bleeding out.

_"Arch-Mage... find me..."_ he thought, trying to reach out with his mind or whatever the hell it was the mages did when they talked without a comm channel. He was rewarded with silence and a spectacular view of the flagship he was forcefully ejected from crashing into the planet below as he continued to drift steadily closer to New Mandalore.

And straight into the hull of a cloaked Coalition cruiser. The moment he hit the hull, he noticed the familiar sheen of shields activating about ten meters above him.

_"I guess they found me..."_ he mused, wishing he could still smirk as a hatch opened up behind him and he was dragged inside. With a solid 'thunk' he landed on deck plating before he felt a magical aura envelop what was left of his broken body.

"I swear, Phyron... first your ship, then your eye, and now this... it's like you have a death wish." the Arch-Mage said. Her guard detail refrained from laughing despite her attempts at humor as they continued on towards the medbay as carefully as possible.

_"Tell me... what news of the flagship...?"_ he thought once more, getting a smirk out of the Arch-Mage.

_"Crashed on the surface but a few moments ago, but our intel is still sketchy... with you out of commission we've already begun to withdraw. Even we can't win a battle when we're outnumbered a hundred to one, old friend."_ she thought back in turn, letting her presence fill his mind both to communicate as well as dull the extreme pain he was in. Lucky for Phyron, his lack of a jaw mean those around him couldn't read his facial expression and thus, the Arch-Mage was the only one who knew just how badly he wanted the pain to stop.

He immediately felt the effects of her mental work and gave somewhat silent thanks in the form of a content gurgle as they entered the medbay and he was placed into a healing chamber.

"Alright, begin regrowing his arms, leg, eye, an-"

_"Not jaw. I want a prosthetic."_

_"Why?"_

_"They seemed intent on aiming for my jaw... I want something that will hurt them more than it will hurt me if I end up going toe to toe with that..._ thing._"_

"... a prosthetic for the jaw... Limbs and his eye will be regrown but Lord Phyron wishes for his jaw to be artificial." she told the healers that had gathered. Usually in the midst of battle, Healing Mages were used only for small fixes or temporary measures so that clones would end up being cost effective, but when a major officer was in need of healing, they were given priority over the expendable troops to the point where limbs would be regrown if necessary. Needless to say, the process was long and painful, but Phyron was very willing to undergo the process. He felt pangs of pain even more severe than losing his limbs begin growing in intensity from his stumps almost immediately.

Had he been capable, he would have let out a pain and rage induced howl of agony.

* * *

Grand Admiral Nelson walked to the nearest hangar that was still able to launch a shuttle. The enemy was retreating from space but the ground battle had been renewed as Coalition survivors of ships that had crashed both by accident and on purpose had begun to mobilize. They seemed intent on fighting until the last as Coalition vessels trickled out of the system one by one.

This time however, the armies were ready. Centurions had safely landed and entire platoons of Eclipse Marines and Shocktroopers in powered armor were already being mobilized but with Hannah still in medbay due to complication that Dr. Granvic and Chris refused to elaborate on, he was left in charge.

"J-... whoever's in charge of the comm channels now, get me an ETA on that shuttle." he ordered.

"Lieutenant Reldi here, sir. Five minutes until a LAAT gunship lands to restock as best she can while waiting for you to arrive." was the reply he got through his earpiece.

"Go ahead and tell the Admirals not to send any ships down to give ground support during the coming battles until we have orbit secured." Nelson replied, "And get Lucky-7 down here as well."

"Sorry sir, but they're unavailable." Reldi told him after a few moments, "They got hit hard during the offensive and are currently aboard the _Republic_ recovering what they can of the squadron."

"How many got hit...?"

"Seven in total lost completely... thirteen fighters left and one extremely pissed Kaylin."

"I bet... send her my regrets."

* * *

Gunnery Sergeant Jones sprinted forward with inhuman speed courtesy of the armor he was wearing. Despite being the first man to be issued the Eclipse Powered Armor System Mark I, he had refrained from personalizing it too much, simply adding in the emblem of the New Mandalore Guard to the chest in order to draw more fire there.

The EPAS Mk. I, now finally in slotted to be put into regular production after the finalization of the work the boys in R&D. The Mark II would be made eventually, though most likely sooner rather than later given how hard it was to kill these Coalition ground troops.

Jones landed in a small crater in the forest floor that had been caused by a grenade with a loud thud, bringing up his rifle to bear without pause and laying down cover fire despite plenty of purple and orange laser bolts zipping past him and occasionally glancing off his armor. His shields had already deactivated just from the barrage he had taken getting to this position but frankly, he didn't give a damn at the moment and continued shooting at anything dumb enough to fire back at him.

After a few seconds, the regular marines he had managed to scrap together from a botched air deployment caught up, crouched or went prone, and returned fire with as much intensity as they could muster. Blue and red intersected purple and orange as trees caught in the cross-fire burst into flames or simply detonated because of the intense heat being thrown at each side of this firefight by the other.

Jones managed to land a head shot on one of the Coalition machinegunners, one of those bastards that walked around with what amounted to an E-Web heavy repeating blaster turret and as he dropped, nearly half of the fire the Coalition troops were throwing at the Eclipse force ceased.

"Keep up the fire boys! Press forward!" Jones shouted as he started forward again. 32 marines followed behind him, 29 of them making it to the enemy fire line to finish the job he started.

"Police their weapons, grab whatever you can use if you need. Intel shows three platoons to the west where they're trying to dig in. I'd rather they **not.**" Gunny told them, emphasizing his last word with a blaster bolt to the head of one of the Coalition regulars trying to crawl to his weapon.

"Three more of them are still kicking, sir." someone pipped up, Jones couldn't figure out who. He had never worked with any of the men and women currently following his orders but he did the best with what he had.

"We don't have time to take prisoners. Give'em painless deaths so we can move on."

* * *

"First contact has been made with the ground forces that the Coalition left behind, sir." an intel officer with the named Orianus announced. Nelson paid him little heed as they stood together in the gunship that was hurtling off towards a forward command post that had been erected while they were still in the air.

"ID on the soldiers that hit first?"

"Mixed unit from five different platoons and ships working under the command of a EPAS-Trooper of the New Mandalore Guard... Gunnery Sergeant Colim Jones." the officer replied, getting a grin out of Nelson. Colim had been with him on New Fentok when his transport had gotten shot down and had made it all the way to New Mandalore Guardsman a year later. If he recalled correctly, he was also the man who managed to get the kill during that terrorist attack earlier that year.

"I want him back with my personal guard if he survives the rest of the battle." the Admiral replied quietly. "I need a new personal platoon leader anyway..."

"Aye sir... ETA, three minutes. The command post is in a safe zone right outside of mortar range of the front lines." Orianus added, handing Nelson a datapad with an overlay of the northwestern hemisphere. "We're holding them twenty miles south of the capitol and still pushing them back. RAS _Empress_ and three Acclamator-IIIs made an emergency landing four miles south of the rear Coalition line, if you could call it that, as well and are already redeploying their troops and armor."

"We have them trapped... how soon can we close the west and east flanks around them and tighten the noose?"

"Still working on that sir."

"Then get orders out and get it done, Major." Nelson told him, handing the datapad back and hitting the side door with the flat side of his fist. A few seconds later, both opened up and gave the two officers an amazing view of the forests south of New Keldabe as Nelson's cape billowed in the speed-induced breeze. They were mostly on fire, regrettably; thanks to crashed ships and firefights, a significant portion of the trees were on fire or already burned bare, leaving dozens of large smoke columns and hundreds of smaller ones to mar the grey sky.

"By the Force..." Orianus murmured, to which Nelson simply grunted.

"War hit home, Major... don't act so surprised."

* * *

Second Lieutenant Uyon as well as the rest of the survivors from the _Redemption_ crash continued forward along the forward line. His platoon had once again gotten slotted for front line duty thanks to their service records continually being forced to show excellence as these battles progressed. The only breather they had all gotten was the ride from Senth Site and the shorter ride via LAAT to the staging area to eradicate the Coalition troops that were quickly becoming more than just a nuisance.

He kept his spirits high though, or at least attempted to. Word had just come in that even though the _Kindred Spirit_ had indeed been forced down, Grand Admiral Nelson and Field Marshall Nelson were just fine.

"Rumornet is saying Spirit Brigade and all of her tanks are hitting the west flank as we speak." a PFC said to no one in particular.

"Which rumornet and how did you hear that before me?" Uyon asked without turning around.

"I'm your comm officer, sir. I sift through the shit you don't need to hear." the young man replied.

"Point taken. Keep me posted more about them if you can, if they're in the fight there's no way these... whatever they are, will be getting off our homeworld in one piece."

"I'm actually from Cresh, sir."

"Well I'm a Aureker and I outrank you, so start feeling patriotic."

"Is that an order, sir?"

"Yes tha-son of a bitch!" Uyon tried to quip back before a plasma shell landed a few meters in front of them. "Damnit! Defensive formation, they got artillery up and running!"

A second shell landed behind them, splattering their backs with small droplets of superheated plasma that burned a few milometers into the armor. Uyon thought he heard one of his marines bark out in pain as a droplet landed on his neck but he couldn't quite be sure as a third shell landed to their front-left. Moments later, the entire front line was running into plasma artillery shelling the flank.

Unlike the opening moves of the battle five days ago however, the Eclipse was ready this time.

Uyon's platoon smiled and cheered from their position on their chests as friendly artillery and air strikes lanced back at the Coalition lines towards the estimated firing positions of their heavy guns. Even tanks gave their two credits in the engagement, sending Mass Driver rounds and top-mounted anti-light vehicle rockets into the fray as well.

"Sir, permission to miss fighting the buggers, sir." Sergeant Grugth shouted over the din.

"Permission granted!" Uyon replied with a smile before a Coalition anti-tank missile slammed into the ground to his direct right and sent him flying into a nearby Canderous tank.

* * *

His arms and legs took nearly three hours to regrow properly but he was more than elated when they were finally back. Phyron stretched his arms, legs, fingers, and toes slowly to get used to the new limbs without damaging himself, not really minding that the Arch-Mage was still extending her aura over his body to scan for and heal anything else that was damaged, broken, or in need of replacement.

Phyron's jaw however, was a different story entirely. To the untrained eye, it looked as if someone had done an extremely thorough job with gunmetal grey makeup starting where his earlobes connected to his head. Anyone in the Coalition medical teams however were well aware that it was in fact a prosthesis made completely of titalium alloy, something usually reserved for tank armor and in some cases, starship plating.

It was heavy and his vocal cords were already severely damaged beyond conventional repair, but he did not mind. He felt that the gravely tone that mixed with the synthesizer in his throat made him sound slightly more threatening; not that he'd need anything to be more threatening, but he still was growing to enjoy it.

"It will definitely make Chris think twice about aiming for my face again, at least." Phyron finally said. "How does the scar look?"

"Menacing as always, Josiah." the Arch-Mage replied, giving a slight grin as she continued her work. "If you ask me, it's an improvement. No Coalition Lord should have a flawless face."

"Very funny..." Phyron quipped, running a finger over his newest scar. The other nicks and scratches he had received when he killed that Republic Admiral and took on all of those Battle-Mages had already scarred over and left his face and neck looking raw in patches as opposed to clean lines like the man... Nelson, they called him... that had managed to best him with the help of his runt of a brother.

_"Christopher..."_ he thought, not bothering to shield his mind from the woman in front of him, _"Soon... soon..."_

"I'm surprised he's still alive, honestly."

"As was I. He is still my Uncle's attack hound and despite all that has happened, still a runt. Their champion is the one who defeated me once I harmed his mate, not my brother or those arrogant, self-righteous bastards aboard the _Ghost_."

"Are you still holding a grudge?"

"Since before you were born, little one." Phyron replied with a rare grin on his face."

"I'd say get over it but you are over a milennia old." the Arch-Mage retorted, returning the grin. Phyron simply patted her on the shoulder gently as he started out the door.

"You're not too far behind me in years, I recall."

"Only by a century or two, old man."

"Of course m'lady, of course... if you need me, I shall be on the bridge getting a full brief. I believe my surviving fleet commanders have some explaining to do."

"Save the executions for The Devourer, Josiah." the Arch-Mage ordered, all the playfulness in her tone suddenly vanishing. The massive Lord in front of her bowed rather gracefully before giving a respectful nod.

"As you wish ma'am. I shall refrain until further ordered."

"Good." she replied, "Good... how many survived anyway?"

"I think maybe three. Possibly four."

"So... none by the time we tally up their infractions and the punishments for inexcusable failure on the field of battle."

"None it is, then... but what of our fates?" Phyron asked, genuine concern creeping into his voice. The Arch-Mage was quick to reply, floating up so that she was just under eye level with the massive humanoid and teasingly stroking his now metal cheek.

"My dear Lord Phyron... House Pyranius was the herald... the probe. He expected us to do our best, and in a rare case, we were forced to withdraw." she said before gently smacking his prosthetic jaw with the flat of her fingers, "He'd be more angry if we had allowed ourselves to be killed and deprived him of the two most loyal members of The Dozen."

"I fear the other Lords will seek to exploit my perceived weakness upon our return."

"And I don't think our Lord will allow them to. You served well and more than earned your weight in blood. Go, and do not fear... He has many more plans for you and me... many, _many_ more plans."


	48. Chapter 46

Jones' ragtag platoon kept pushing through the forest with a slow and steady pace of a Canderous Assault Tank Mk-III and somehow, with the same deadly force as one. Ever since the initial firefight that marked the beginning of the last phase of the battle for New Mandalore, Gunnery Sergeant Jones of the New Mandalore Guard had been pushing the men and women following him forward almost nonstop in an effort to disrupt the Coalition ground troops and finally get to the command post in that area.

"Alright, keep low..." Jones whispered over the team's comm channel, yet barely able to keep his own body low due to his armor. While it provided amazing protection, the imposing defense system wasn't really meant for stealth like the Katarn-class armor suits with the proper stealth plating.

Fifty meters in front of them was a Coalition Field Command Post, or at least what the Eclipse marines thought it was. Antennas, mounted turrets, small shield walls, and even what looked like an AT-ST but built more like a man than like a chicken and with thicker, better armored arms and legs. All around it milled various types of soldiers, ranging from men in shock armor to simple engineer fatigues and armed in an equally hob-job manner.

_"Must not have made a smooth landing..."_ Jones thought, looking on as they continued about, unaware of the Eclipse strike team watching from the brush. _"That... mech thing... is gonna be a problem though..."_

"Sergeant... what the hell are those things anyway?" one of the women in the platoon asked.

"Things? There's only on...oh **shit**..." the power trooper replied, eyes rolling and head making a jerking motion down and to the left to emphasize his last word in exasperation. "Well that's just great, three walking tanks." he added, mostly to himself than to anyone else.

"What's the plan, sir?" another marine asked. For a good five minutes after, Jones crouched in silence, mulling things over in his head and on his HUD, trying to find the best solution to a rather big problem.

"The plan, Lance Corporal..." he started, pulling his left wrist up and activating the small holopad embedded in it. While it was usually used for communication when practical, it also made a handy briefing device in the field. "We split up into 3 squads, 10 in each with only 9 of you in my squad. Squad 1 stays here and draws fire, make sure to try and build yourself some cover while the rest of us get into position. Squad 2, you move up on the left flank and wait, getting yourself some cover as well. Squad 3, you're with me; we'll move over to their right and open fire after Squad 1 starts getting hit too heavy. S-2, you have the heavy weapons, you take out those walkers after the other two squads open up."

"Squad leaders, sir?"

"Sergeant Shal, you have Squad 1." Jones stated, gesturing to a lean man and the 9 others behind him. "Corporal Kos, you have Squad 2." he added, pointing to a Kiffar woman and the marines around her.

"Everyone else, with me. Move out."

* * *

The LAAT gunship carrying Admiral Nelson continued its journey towards the front line of the Eclipse flank. He had already made it to the forward command post and had since decided that he'd be of more use on the front, leaving General Park in charge of the ground war. He was a naval tactician, not a ground one, after all.

"Hitting the LZ in 5 minutes sir." the pilot announced, getting a dry 'got it' from the officer in the open troop bay and a silent chorus of nods from the strike team he had decided to hitch a ride with. He usually didn't mind being around a platoon of marines during a combat drop, despite how long it had been since he had actually participated in one, but the last time he was in a gunship on a planet under siege didn't end well for the gunship or the pilot.

"Has Intel seen any AAA in the containment zone?"

"Scattered, but nothing near where we are, sir." the co-pilot replied, "At least nothing so far. Never know what those bastards might improvise."

"Just keep an eye out..." Nelson told them.

"Nervous, sir?" one of the marines asked.

"Last time I was in a gunship with a combat platoon, I got shot down. Not exactly wanting that to happen again." he replied with a dry smirk. The look of shock and near-horror that spread across the greenhorn's face was priceless. Nelson didn't notice that it wasn't the story, but a warning light blaring causing said reaction for a few moment though.

"Incoming fire!"

"Missiles or plasma?" Nelson asked.

"Why does it mat-"

"Missiles or plasma, pilot!?"

"Missiles! Five of them! Incoming from a surface launcher!"

"Keep the gunship steady and stay on course, I got it covered!"

"Sir, what the he-"

"That is an order, pilot! Keep the ship steady and don't divert your course! I'll take care of the missiles." Nelson barked back before switching com channels again, "Co-pilot, point of origin?"

"Port side!"

"Got it." Nelson told him before hitting the button that opened up the side door. The marines in the troop bay all held on tight, doing their best not to panic as five contrails came into view. "Do you boys know what happened today?"

"No sir." someone, he didn't care who, answered.

"I lost three close friends to those Coalition bastards." the Admiral continued as the missiles continued to get closer. "And do you know how that makes me feel?"

"No sir!" a few more replied, starting to catch on and relaxing a bit.

"It makes me very..." he said, raising his left hand, "Very..." he added, flexing his fingers, "**Angry!**"

The anti-air missiles stopped in their tracks, propulsion drives still firing yet being held in place a few meters beside the gunship. He held them for a few seconds before flipping his hand slowly, turning them around in the process, and then flexing his fingers again, sending them hurtling towards Coalition lines.

"Can most Knights do that...?" the same marine who asked a question earlier inquired. Nelson made a note of the name plastered on his chest piece, 'Indo'.

"No, most Knights can't stop five anti-aircraft missiles cold and send them back towards the idiots that shot them." Nelson replied, closing the side door as well. "At least not with that little amount of effort."

"Badass." the young man muttered in reply, lowering his gaze as the supreme commander of the fleets smirked at him again.

"ETA?"

"2 minutes." the co-pilot replied. "We'll have you boys on the ground in no time. Though someone needs to pick up a new flight suit for the pilot, I think that stunt scared the crap out of him."

* * *

Jones was always taught to expect the unexpected, to plan and expect the worst, but hope for the best... well, maybe not the best but definitely not hope for something bad. What he did not expect was a friendly platoon of Eclipse Marines led by another EPAS-trooper to come barreling through First Squad's position and proceed to curbstomp the Coalition command post and everyone within visual range. Barely a minute into the firefight, the three mechs, unmanned luckily enough, were missing their legs and had their 'faces' planted in the ground.

The rest of the Coalition soldiers however were met with rather grim ends; one even getting his head literally punched off of his neck by the man in powered armor. The entire skirmish took roughly three minutes before the only people standing were clad in Eclipse emblems. Jones took the lack of fire to walk into the clearing, giving an all clear tone on the channel as he strode through the carnage.

The other EPAS-trooper noticed and let his posture relax slightly before he noted the rank and snapped to a salute with his DL-19/S Blaster Rifle slung snugly on his back.

"Evenin', Gunnery Sergeant, nice of you to drop by. I hope we didn't interrupt something." he said once Jones finally reached him. He had to do his best not to comment on the man's height though, he was rather short for an EPAS-trooper.

"Staff Sergeant...?" Jones asked, noting silently that his own platoon was filtering into the clearing, policing weapons and executing anything that was still moving.

"Osseer, sir."

"At ease, sarge. Nice to see another set of power armor out here...Ship of origin?"

"_Morning Glory_."

"You wouldn't happen to be the same Staff Sergeant Osseer of the-"

"Glory's Rejects? Hell yeah we are. What tipped you off?"

"The fact that your K/D from this one firefight is nearly 3 to 1 with no losses or injuries." Jones deadpanned. "How'd you end up down here, your ship is still in one piece last I heard."

"We got shot down on the way back up, reformed with the rest of the army, now we're pressing in on the flank... what platoon you from?"

"Uh... good question, everyone here was shot down too, I might have some of yours..." Jones replied, looking around for a moment, "Anyone here from RAS _Morning Glory_?"

"Me, sir." the Kiffar woman spoke up, raising her hand and walking over to the two NCOs. As she did, Osseer's posture relaxed again and he pulled her into a hug; the fact that she wasn't even bruised showed how well he knew his limits with the suit.

"Azin! Last I saw you you were flying out of the side of out gunship!"

"Good to see you too, sir."

"Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but where's your CO?" Jones interjected.

"Senior Knight Diylon and Junior Knight Voss are scouting ahead, they're probably about a click to the east." Osseer stated.

"Not that far, sergeant." a male voice added in. Above them, two Knights jumped off the branches of the canopy and landed in the middle of the group. Jones and Osseer managed to get half a salute in before the Senior Knight said 'at ease'.

"Gunny, nice to see you. Have you been briefed on the situation?" the senior knight asked.

"No sir, our comm gear was jacked up rather badly when we landed, even your corporal over there didn't have a working receiver when we linked up. Jones replied, gesturing to Corporal Kos again.

"Azin? Well damn you are alive."

"And a warm welcome from you too Tiberius. At least I got a hug from sarge."

"We'll get to that later. Now then... Gunny, Coalition troops landed by the thousands about half an hour ago and we've surrounded them. We're currently on the western flank pressing in... the main body is three click behind us, the Coalition is everywhere between here and the eastern flank 30 clicks that way." Diylon told him, gesturing behind himself with a thumb.

"I take it we're going to be joining your platoon then?" Jones asked, unslinging his rifle. His only reply was a simple nod.

"Squad leaders form up! Drake, take command of Gunnery Sergeant Jones' platoon, Azin, fall back with us... Tosla, see if you can get the mech Osseer didn't destroy to work like you did the last one, only don't trash it this time, and you." the Senior Knight ordered, looking back at Jones. "You are now third in command of this little ragtag team, if you see something we don't and give an order, they have to follow it."

"Aye, sir."

"Good. Next target is three hundred meters east, we're taking out some Triple A. Alright men-" Tiberius barked before glancing back over at the only woman in his platoon, "And lady. Move out!"

* * *

Nelson's gunship landed without incident and he jumped to the ground as soon as it stopped moving. Without speaking, he moved towards where he heard shots being fired, not bothering with the officers that were asking why he was out here on the front and not up in orbit.

He reached the first firing line, still not speaking a word as he ignited his lightsabers. The two blades had not been used in nearly a year, but they still felt right in his hands as he brandished them for all, Eclipse and Coalition alike, to see. For a few moments, he had to deflect laser fire, sending it back at those dumb enough to fire at a Knight whose weapons were at the ready.

That was until he shouted at them and the fighting in that area came to a surprising halt.

"Soldiers of the Coalition!" he bellowed, pointing a silver blade of energy at their line, "Your fleet is destroyed! Your Commander is dead! And your survivors have run like cowards! I suggest you make peace now and surrender, for I will not give mercy to those who wish to continue this fight! Drop! Your! Weapons!"

The Coalition survivors of the Battle of New Mandalore were few, with an even smaller number who were around to hear Grand Admiral Nelson's ultimatum. Those who did survive all said the same thing when asked what it was like when he first charged their position.

Force energy was coming off of him like a smoke from a fire. Shots that made it past his sabers did nothing, those that were deflected were sent back with plenty of extra energy and force, often blowing those hit by them into cauterized piles of shattered limbs and armor. He was like a demon charging through the forest, snapping or shattering tree trunks just from his passing before he finally made contact with the Coalition front line.

Soldiers were thrown about like rag-dolls, limbs and heads were severed, throats were clenched shut permanently, and on more than one occasion a Coalition soldier found a saber blade sticking out of his chest for a moment before things went dark. Right behind him, the Republic troops surged forward with renewed resolve as this vengeful angel from hell continued to maim his way through the Coalition troops like they were made of paper.

* * *

"Sitrep." General Park ordered as he walked back into the command center. The HQ for the front line, as well as the entire ground force until the Coalition was pushed off the planet was aboard the an Acclamator-III named _Demolisher_. It wasn't the command center of the _Redemption_ by far, but it was still fully operational and wasn't in danger of collapsing under his feet.

"Grand Admiral Nelson just demolished this entire segment of the Coalition line." the tactical AI Wreckage replied as he brought up a small segment of the red area outlined on the map of the hemisphere that was home to the battle.

"And by demolished you mean...?"

"Force Rage the likes Knights only detected in orbit before the _Kindred Spirit_ crashed, General." Wreckage replied, his AI, ironically enough a construction worker, crossing his arms.

"Then what the hell set him off this time...?"

* * *

"How do you think he's taking the news?" Chris asked as he looked over to Dr. Granvic.

"I don't know, but if the disturbances I'm feeling are any indication, not well, not well at all..." she replied as she continued to wave her hands slowly in front of the bacta tank holding Field Marshall Nelson. Her Force abilities were latent, but still enough to work Force Healing techniques correctly and she needed every bit of talent to keep her patient alive.

"He's Raging again?"

"Probably just letting his emotions run wild after finding out he almost lost more than just his wife..."

"And you're one hundred percent certain that your readings were correct?" Chris inquired, walking back up to the tank. "I mean if you are you couldn't really tell just from looking at her but... still, you'd think they'd know."

"She might have not told him given the situation. News like that isn't exactly at the forefront of your mind when your home world is in danger of being turned to slag." Granvic quipped.

"True... true..." the super soldier replied before placing his hands behind his back. "Well... I'll leave you to keep them alive... good luck, Doctor."

"Much appreciated, Centurion." she replied, not looking as Chris walked out of the medbay with the rest of his platoon. About halfway to the hangar where another gunship was waiting to pick them up for deployment, one of the Betas finally spoke up.

"Sir, what's going on with the Nelsons?"

Chris didn't answer for a few minutes, trying to find the best way to put it clearly and bluntly without seeming rude or overbearing, yet it seemed that the direct approach would be best in this situation. However, he took his time in formulating the right phrase until they were in a gunship and away from any possible eavesdroppers.

"Well Centurion-082..." he finally replied after activating the private team com channel again, "Field Marshall Hannah Nelson is pregnant, and the strain on her body is killing her."


	49. Chapter 47

Uyon's eyes shot open and he let out a sharp gasp. He tried to clutch his chest but he felt hands holding his limbs back and a needle retract from his neck before the pain in his chest and back finally started to subside.

"Wh-"

"Don't talk sir, we gotta get you stabilized." Ramsey told him, "Mortar slapped you into a tank back first and melted your helmet... we barely got it off before it melted to your head."

"Bac-"

"I said shut up, sir. Don't waste effort talking just try to keep breathing steadily... it's a miracle none of your ribs punctured a lung..."

"Armor did its job." Grugth quipped.

"His armor has been doing its job a little too often, if you ask me." Ramsey replied, not looking up from her commanding officer to face the sergeant. "He's lucky General Park doesn't make him take a vacation."

"Given what Nelson just pulled... I think we're all going to be getting vacation time after this." a private chimed in.

"The day we get Uyon out of here to take a vacation is the day an EPAS-trooper flies."

* * *

63 Marines, EPAS-troopers, and Republic Knights worked their way forward through the thicket at a much faster pace than Gunny Jones would have liked, but was willing to accept given that half of the force was composed of the most infamous group of marines in the Eclipse Navy. Known for their unorthodox tactics, blatant disregard for orders half the time, dysfunctional nature in any situation that didn't involve them getting shot at, and their ability to get the job done in the most bizarre fashions possible, The Glory's Rejects had built up quite a reputation, one that Jones was rather excited to see in person for once.

"Hold up." Senior Knight Diylon muttered, holding up his fist and crouching down low, "We got company..."

"How much company?" Jones asked, trying to peer over the edge without giving away their position. As he did, Diylon waved over to a miraluka woman in their group with the name " Jarak" on her helmet. In reply she moved over next to Drake and put her fingers to her temples, focusing as much as she could before giving a flurry of hand signs to her Knight next to her.

"Infantry, double, maybe triple our number. No armor support." the younger Knight stated before looking back at Diylon, "This will get messy pretty damn quick if we try the usual approach."

"Noted..." Diylon replied, looking down at the dirt for a moment before glancing over at Staff Sergeant Osseer.

"Plan, sir?" Jones asked.

"The plan... Jones, you have command of everyone, open fire when I give the order. Drake, Osseer, you're with me... time to play some Huttball. Staff, you're the ball." Diylon ordered. As he did though, Staff Sergeant Osseer gave out what would be known as the most maniacal laugh that anyone within earshot had ever, and would ever, hear in their entire lives.

* * *

Nelson slid to a halt in front of a Coalition platoon, throwing a hand up as he ducked down a little and sent them all flying into the trees. Most of them flew through the trees while one unlucky solider was impaled on a large branch at the weak point in his armor along the top of his neck.

None of the Knights following him so much as flinched in response, lighting up the survivors with Force Lightning and then bounding along as Nelson continued his carnage-filled tour of the Coalition ground force. It had barely been an hour and already the Grand Admiral had cut a swathe through what was supposed to be a superior infantry force.

_"Guess they aren't so tough without their version of Knights..."_ Nelson thought, casually using a Force Choke on a squad that was closing in from the front. He tossed their bodies aside into another squad that decided to try and counter-rush the advance, throwing his saber into the mix and severing a mans arm at the shoulder before he leaped into the air and landed on the wounded man. As he pulled his saber back with the Force, it cut through another Coalition trooper, cutting him in half at the waist.

"Sir, they're falling back across the line trying to contain you! Looks like they're trying to reform around the breaks you've caused." his earpiece announced. Nelson smiled in return, letting his Force aura pulse once more and sending a slight boost to the Knights around him. Ever since he had started training under his wife in how to control and hone his powers, Battle Meditation had been a major part of his learning material and he was finally getting a chance to use his own version of it properly. It focused on abilities more than the mental aspect, enhancing strength and physical endurance.

The result was Knights and marines within the 'blast radius' who were temporarily able to run faster, hit harder, and perfectly willing to punch a Coalition trooper to death.

"Order all units in my area to keep pressing forward, we are not stopping this advance; full on steamroll."

* * *

"Fifty ships made it out alive and are capable of moving, the remainder were lost." The Arch-Mage stated, looking over at the hologram of her master.

"We lost a sizable chunk of the fleet in targeting where Abyss was staging his operations against the Republic. Reinforcements streamed in for days during the battle... we barely managed a proper cleanup before leaving to assault the Republic homeworld." Phyron added, "Needless to say, their reinforcements were... more than expected."

"Clarify, Lord Phyron." the Devourer replied, crossing his arms and looking over the readouts.

"They have Omega Initiative technology, they managed to get hundreds of ships and two supercapitals in system in a manner of minutes. Five days after we started the assault, hundreds more in a manner of seconds as well as another supercapital... scans showed it at nearly 30 kilometers in length and the weapons... they must have made this to take on the ship that Abyss ran away on."

"Name? No, don't answer... he named it _The Void_ again, didn't he?" Devourer replied, getting a nod from the Arch-Mage. "Predictable... same as always, never learning from his past mistakes... that will cost him dearly when we start the hunt once more..."

"Do you have any orders for us, my Lord?" the Arch-Mage asked quietly.

"Return to my flagship... the rest of The Dozen are waiting for you to return."

"As you wish, my lord." the Arch-Mage replied before the feed cut.

"That went well..." Phyron muttered as he moved to leave the room.

"Better than expected, I'll give you that Josiah... tell the helm to change course from the home-station to the _Harbinger of Ascension_, our master is waiting."

* * *

159 Coalition soldiers continued to press forward despite orders to reinforce the middle. Their commanders had already made it clear that if they took too many men from their front, the flank would cave in on two sides instead of just one.

Needless to say, they didn't expect an armored Eclipse marine to land in front of their lead scout. They also didn't expect two of their battle mages to pop out of the forest on either side of him and start tossing the man in power armor around like a baseball.

Sergeant Osseer of the Glory's Rejects platoon was an interesting case, being a Force Mirror and capable of reflecting and using the powers of Knights around him, but not having any powers of his own. Because of this, Knights Drake and Diylon had a habit of using his sheer mass and durability granted thanks to his armor to their advantage in tandem with their mobility.

Osseer continued to laugh like a madman as he let himself fly between the two Knights, jumping around and using Force pushes from himself and his commanding officers to go flying though the enemy formation and not above it. Limbs were shattered, ribs where splintered, and in many cases necks were snapped in unnatural directions as the EPAS-trooper continued his artificial flight.

To anyone looking at the engagement from above, it looked like an exceedingly bloody game of Pong, which only got bloodier as Senior Knight Diylon gave the order to open fire. Jones and the others replied immediately, saturating the area with blaster fire that caught the Coalition troops, now facing the trio of Eclipse soldiers creating a devastating distraction, in the back.

Five survivors managed to throw down their weapons before they were shot in the knees and put under guard of some of the wounded Eclipse marines.

"Good work, you ok there Osseer?" Diylon said.

"Fine... just... oh Force I love yet hate that move." the staff sergeant replied, holding his head and swaying quite a bit before Jones caught him as he fell over.

"Move up, we need to keep pressing. Osseer, get moving once you're not dizzy."

* * *

Another explosion ripped through the trees and a formation of Coalition troops as Nelson redirected a tank shell that had been fired at the men behind him. Next to the men who had just been blown to hell, the tank that fired the round was hit with two Mass Driver rounds that penetrated its shielding and armor courtesy of a Canderous tank that had managed to catch up.

Nelson had been slowing his progress for the sake of the rest of the army and to make sure that he didn't end up isolated in the middle of an army that had no reason to take prisoners. His mark on the enemy was still dangerous as he deflected and redirected almost everything thrown at those around him. Their progress was substantial, anything that Nelson didn't toss aside with lethal force was put down by the tanks, other Knights, or infantry as they traveled in a steady line through the trees and brush.

An archaic tactic, not used regularly since the Mandalorian Wars, but in this case it worked thanks to the vengeful demon of a Grand Admiral and the Knights all around him getting a boost in their powers.

The surplus of EPAS troopers thanks to them not having been deployed from New Mandalore yet was a nice bonus too.

"Pick up the pace, men!"

"Ay- be advised, friendly gunship inbound with heavy infantry!" a radio officer replied. Moments later as Nelson looked up into the sky, the familiar site of a LAAT/m came into view right before a trio of rockets lanced towards it. Each one was shot out of the sky before the gunship carpet bombed the area in front of the Admirals position. Lucky for him, the bombs were all Centurions that created craters in the ground on impact before bringing their arm-cannons to bear or punching everything they could see to death.

Nelson didn't miss a beat, jumping in like New Fentok all over again to join in the melee, slicing at anything that Chris didn't shatter or blast into a puddle of blood and armor. After another five minutes of intense fighting, the Coalition line started to back off once more, pulling back as the rest of the Eclipse line pressed forward, only to stall as all across the line, mech-suits the size of tanks engaged the Republic force.

Nelson and Chris were close to being on the receiving end of one of these suits, but Chris' shields held despite the hit and Nelson deflected the round fired at him into another Coalition mech, breaking the shields it had up before a rocket caught it in the legs and a Knight pounced it, cutting into the center in hopes to find and kill whatever was piloting it or sever something vital.

"What the hell are those things!?" a Knight blurted out as the walking armor moved forward. Each suit was around 15 feet in height, heavily armored and armed with the limbs being mostly used to carry various weapon systems given the absence of hands or any form of grasper at the end of each arm. There also weren't any 'heads' on top, leaving the only place for a pilot to be in the center where the armor was thickest.

"A shadow of what I am..." Chris murmured over a com channel to Nelson as they charged the mech in front of them. "Mech suits were my predecessor... reserved to be used in case my trail runs didn't go as well as needed."

"They're just as deadly, aren't they?"

"I only saw the prototypes, sir. They've had a milennia to improve the design and capabilities with the help of this 'Coalition' that my brother talked about."

"Noted." Nelson replied once they reached their target, Chris sweeping out its legs and grabbing the machines right arm and ripping it off as Nelson shoved his sabers into the center of the chassis. Unbeknownst to Nelson, he managed to catch the pilot in the chest and neck before he cut up and through the top of the Coalition mech.

"Whoever's in charge of intel, make a note that we take these things out like chicken walkers!" Nelson barked back at the men behind him.

"Chicken walkers?" Chris asked.

"AT-STs."

"How deadly were they?"

"If you were on Hoth, deadly. If you were an ewok? Not so much." Nelson quipped, landing softly on the ground as the mech they had just dismantled violently fell in a heap.

"Ewok?"

"Think living teddy bear with rock spears and arrows."

"How the hell did something that primitive take out Imperial vehicles?"

"Because something with a lot of power _really_ liked them and we have no idea why."

* * *

"Return to my flagship... the rest of The Dozen are waiting for you to return."

"As you wish, my lord." the Arch-Mage said before the feed cut. Slowly, the Devourer stepped down from the communications pedestal and started back towards the meeting room where 10 other men and women, all resembling the Arch-Mage and Lord Phyron in stature and garb.

"Phyron and the Arch-Mage will be joining us soon." he said, getting nods from the collected House leaders, "That said... them arriving will be ceremonial purposes only..."

"What are your orders?"

"Our primary objective is the same as always, find and kill Abyss... I want him taken out of the equations once and for all... secondary is finding and securing the Cipher. House Julianus, that will be your assignment, do not fail me."

"My ships will begin searching immediately." Lord Kalden replied with a slight bow of his head, though one of the other Lords scoffed.

"Something wrong, Talvic?"

"House Julianus is even newer to the Coalition than House Pyranius, keeping the Cipher safe should be put in the hands of a more capable house."

"My ships are more than capable enough to keep and hold down the Cipher, Talvic." Kalden growled back.

"I doubt it... even Lord Oltion couldn't take on this 'republic' that House Pyranius stumbled upon."

"He took on the homeworld of that insect race and drove Abyss into hiding before he died and Phyron took over." Mage Saldina interjected. "They were weakened substantially before they took on the Eclipse homeworld."

"And they had Omega technology as well..." the Devourer added quietly before holding up his hand, causing the entire room to go silent. "Regardless of your thoughts, Talvic, House Julianus is in charge of taking care of the Cipher situation... the Eclipse is a tertiary objective. You have permission to engage if they get in the way but for now, I want them mostly intact."

"Permission to speak freely, my lord." one of the other mages asked.

"Granted."

"Why do you wish them to be left in one piece?"

"Very simple, Jentaro... we've seen firsthand what they're capable of, and I like what I saw, as well as felt during the battle... their faction will make a worthy Thirteenth House of the Coalition."

"And if they do not submit?"

"Is it not obvious, Kalden?" the Devourer quipped with an almost feral grin, "Your house almost learned the hard way after all... they will submit, or they and every planet they've spread to, will be eradicated... Complete. Annihilation."


	50. Chapter 48

Whether the Coalition remaining on New Mandalore had played their trump card too early, or too late, Chris would never know. All he knew was that someone mentioned almost casually over the comm channels that overhead surveillance wasn't picking up any more of those mech suits on the planet.

Slowly, he stepped down from the large pile of Coalition mech suits he had been standing on, trying to get a better look at the command post he, his Centurion platoon, and a battalion of Eclipse Marines lead by Grand Admiral Nelson himself, were getting ready to attack. Luckily for the enemy and everyone around the Grand Admiral, he had mellowed out quite a bit courtesy of the sea of disembodied limbs both mechanical and organic behind him.

"Get a bead on anything, Chris?" Nelson asked as his defacto Second found his way down from the scrap heap.

"Just whatever could be classified as the usual for a command post. Auto-turrets, machine gun nests... think I saw a triple A battery in the mix too, but aiming a bit low; they may try and use it on the infantry."

"Yeah... 'standard'..." Nelson deadpanned. "More like 'whatever the hell we have left'."

"Well if all ground wars go like this with them, whatever the hell we have left might be standard for them." Chris quipped, cracking a rare grin.

"I swear to Revan that if you jinx us with that comment, I'll attempt and fail to kick your ass for it."

"Noted, sir." Chris replied, his helmet working its way back on and his arm-cannon giving the tell-tale noise of a mode change, "Shall we?"

"The word is given, all units move forward once we cross the skirmish line."

* * *

"Doctor, she's waking up." one of the medics aboard what was left of the _Kindred Spirit_ announced. Needless to say, Granvic was over to the bacta tank holding Field Marshall Nelson in an instant.

"Vitals?"

"Still holding steady right below healthy limits, we're still trying to raise them."

"Recalibrate the system and check again, right below healthy is still better than dying."

"Of course doctor." the medic replied, moving over to the appropriate console and getting to work. As he did, Granvic activated the tanks communication systems and internal lights, illuminating the senior officer as she floated in the healing gel and slowly lifted her head up. Her body was surprisingly unmarred, with only the occasional bruise and the scarring from where the hole in her chest was interrupting her pale skin.

"Good morning, Hannah... glad you could join us." Granvic said softly, getting only a groan in reply. "Easy now, no need to reply with the breathing tube i-aaah... right... Force..." she added, holding her head for a moment.

_"Sorry for not being able to warn you doctor... just... please, tell me what happened. Where's Ed?"_ Hannah 'said', projecting her thoughts into Granvic's head with the Force in order to communicate.

"Currently leading the charge in finishing off the Coalition forces left on the planet, despite the distressing news we gave him this morning."

_"I almost died?"_

"The stress of a chest wound and the baby was almost too much for your body to handle."

_**"Baby!?"**_

"Ah! Watch the mental shouting, Hannah, please..." Granvic replied, holding her head again, "And yes... the baby... don't tell me you didn't know about it, you're at least a month in."

At that, the Field Marshall averted her eyes for a moment, concentrating for a moment as one of her hands slowly found its way to her stomach. Slowly her movements stopped and she was still in the tank, her breathing slowing and her eyes closing for a few minutes as Granvic simply watched.

_"I knew Granvic…. I just… you imagine telling Ed that he's going to be a father… that his best fighter, his wife who's been at his side for years now won't be able to go into battle with him anymore…" Hannah finally 'said', "That… my career as a leader from the front is effectively finished… I'll be stuck in tactics rooms or on the bridge with him."_

"Afraid of the change, ma'am?"

_"After seeing how miserable my husband is at times after the wars confined him to his command chair? How could I not be…"_

"That does explain his… enthusiasm about getting over to the front and fighting on foot again…"

_"You've seen the holos of his early 'adventures'. He's probably having the time of his life right now."_

* * *

Nelson let out a whooping yell as he flew through the air. Chris had been kind enough to be the springboard and throw the senior officer straight towards the Coalition command post as marines and EPAS troopers, some lucky enough to be jetpack troopers as well, followed suit.

Chris on the other hand continued on foot, letting himself get detached from the frenzy of battle as he struck up a conversation with the AI in his suit, Bountiful Harvest.

"I just don't get it... just two hours ago he was a distraught and unstoppable death machine... now he's _enjoying_ this ground war."

"Well he did just lose three close friends and almost his wife... he's probably not dealt with emotional turmoil like this before. Besides, everyone copes differently; some by mourning through violence... some by being hurled at the enemy by a Centurion... some both." Harvest replied via the internal speakers.

"True... it's still confusing, to be honest."

"It's probably confusing for him too if what Granvic told you was true."

"It was, I saw the readings myself."

"Then I'd not try to think about the Grand Admiral's behavior for now and just let him cope in his own... special... manner..." Harvest told him, his words slowing as he saw a trio of Coalition soldiers go flying into pieces when Nelson landed.

"I take it back, I guess he really just likes flying." Chris muttered.

"Toss him some more, it might help him calm down." Harvest quipped back, noting that Nelson's aura had once again become visible.

"To be honest Harv, I don't think a calm Nelson will end this battle the fastest."

"And what will?"

"A pissed off, Force-crazy, father-to-be with a lot of pent up aggression."

"How does he possibly have _pent up aggression_ after all this constant fighting?"

"You've never sparred with him."

* * *

Jones looked out at the slowly shrinking battlefield below him from the troop bay of a LAAT/m that had picked him and his platoon of misplaced soldiers. With how small the different flanks were becoming, those under his command were chosen for extraction and relief. It was a decision he both loved and hated, but he wouldn't be one to argue with the chain of command if it meant finally getting to rest.

At times, he honestly felt like it was the armor moving him and not the other way around with how tired he was from the week's worth of fighting. This was the first time he was able to actually let himself relax; AAA was all disabled, enemy rockets were no longer an issue, and Grand Admiral Nelson himself was finishing off the Coalition troops on New Mandalore.

"Gunns, is it true you served with him? Nelson, I mean." one of the soldiers in the troop bay with him asked. Three of them were huddled around a personal datapad with a holoprojector that was broadcasting battle footage from where the Grand Admiral was fighting with a slight time-delay to allow the AIs to censor it properly when needed.

"Yeah... back on New Fentok. Why?"

"Was he anything like this?" the private inquired.

"Like what...?" Jones replied, cocking his head slightly to the side as they couldn't see his eyebrow raising.

"This." the datapad's owner told him, replaying parts of the footage that showed Nelson being particularly crazy against the enemy ground forces. Jones was slightly taken aback by the display, given he'd fought alongside him before, but not too much.

"Well... we lost three Admirals this week, all of which were his friends."

"And the _Spirit_ was forced into a crash landing a few hours ago." a corporal added.

"I'd be pissed too." Jones finished. "For example, if any of you so much as scratch my armor, I'll throw you out the side of this gunship."

"Should we be thankful you're not a Knight, sir?"

"Do I look like a saber jockey?" Jones quipped, his stance relaxing considerably as the rest of the men in the troop bay began laughing. It had been the first time he'd seen many of them smile since he rallied them and was definitely a nice change of pace. Things were finally winding down, at least on New Mandalore.

_"A new war was starting, but at least the home front would be safe from now on."_ Jones thought as he went back to looking out of the open side door. He could still see the occasional temporary star of a damaged ship finally going through catastrophic reactor failure and detonating and he thought he saw a 'dead comet', the Eclipse slang for a hulk entering the atmosphere on an arced trajectory.

"Hey Gunns, we're being diverted to the main frontline medical camp, special request of General Park."

"His Ops officers say why?"

"He's routing all EPAS troopers back to the FMC just in case; looks like if the shit hits the fan, you'll be getting shot at again."

"Same as always... alright, let's get a move on. Anyone here hurt?" Jones said, getting a few hands up in the air in reply. "Alright, anyone who didn't raise their hand starts helping out the medical staff however they can. Casualty reports were pretty bad last time I checked them and they'll probably need as many helping hands as possible."

"Or you'll throw us out the side of the gunship?" another corporal asked, getting a chuckle out of everyone in the gunship.

* * *

"Are you sure you felt him?" Ilea asked as she watched Abyss pace in front of her. His hands hand vice grips on his wrists as he continued walking back and forth along the command deck of _The Void_, his voice barely above a whisper as he continued muttering. For only the second time in her life, she saw Abyss worried.

"Of course it was... I'd recognize that... presence, anywhere." Abyss finally told her, stopping for a moment and looking out at the vast expanse of what used to be his homeworld, now an asteroid field with plasma clouds causing storms in between the rubble of the once proud planet.

"Then he's getting stronger... that only complicates things."

"Only if we don't find the Cipher in time. Though make no mistake my dear, it is now a race to find it. The Devourer probably already has one of the Coalition Houses searching for it, and once they secure it, our options are extremely limited."

"They're already extremely limited. Our fleets were devastated, the capitol hive turned to magma... this ship and her escort are substantial, but not enough to go up against the Eclipse _or_ the Coalition without you exhausting yourself again." Ilea replied, standing up from the secondary command chair that had been installed and walking over to the near-god.

"I didn't expect Oltion to still be alive... the bastard." Abyss muttered, flexing his fingers slowly, "Nor did I expect him to have that sort of power imbued in him, if I didn't know any better I'd say he was a child of my ancient enemies..."

"Is Devourer the only one left?"

"As am I, but that's none of your concern." Abyss growled.

"Alright, alright... but we still need a plan. Repairs are almost complete and you know my... our, drones get restless when they have no orders."

"The plan is to keep sending out scouts. Keep tabs on the Republic and their war with the Coalition, however short it is. The rest keep looking for the Cipher..."

"And _The Void_? This may be a command flagship, but we still need a world to recolonize."

"You're looking at it." Abyss told her, an almost fiendish grin growing on his face as he lifted up his arms and closed his eyes, focusing as best he could. "I am not to be interrupted, _The Void_ is not to move... I will need recovery time after this... prepare to terraform."

"As you wish, my lord..." Ilea replied with a short bow, taking her time in leaving the bridge as she saw the asteroid field begin to condense and the plasma storms began to disperse. Piece by piece the ancient homeworld of the First Abyssal Empire was being reformed, and the Abyss' Crandolian pawns would have a new home to rebuild his army.

* * *

Chris punched clean through the wall of the command bunker that had been directing the Coalition resistance on New Mandalore, tearing the armor clean off and tossing it aside. Once the wall was out of the way, a trio of marines lobbed grenades inside and ducked for cover as they went off. Chris didn't bother, since thermal detonators only threw off heat and kicked up dust which in this case, all blew past him and barely even nicked his shields.

Once the initial blast had stopped, he jumped down into the makeshift bunker, landing in a crouch so that he would fit given the low ceiling. Quickly, despite his posture, he worked through the hallways, executing anyone that was unwilling to surrender and leaving those who did surrender for the marines behind him to secure.

"Sergeant, give me a POW number."

"Five so far, sir."

"Want to go for seven?"

"To be honest sir, I'd rather just blow this whole damn bunker up and anyone left inside."

"Nelson's already doing that outside."

"Note- six. One of them was hiding, we have him cuffed now." the sergeant replied over the channel as the Centurion kicked another sealed door in. He swept the room, not even bothering to rely on regular sight and sticking to his suits other sensors thanks to all the dust that the detonators had kicked up. Three contacts were still in the room, all of them armed, all of them moving.

And all of them dead. Chris didn't bother telling them to surrender after he shot the first one. The two remaining ones opened fire, spouting fanatical shouts of loyalty before they too joined their comrade on the floor with holes where their foreheads used to be.

Outside, Nelson and the remaining Knights that had been ordered to see the assault through to the end were butchering the remaining Coalition troops outside. By the looks of it the best troops that had landed on New Mandalore had been on the front lines, with steadily weaker and inferior troops behind them. It was almost as if they didn't expect the Eclipse to break their front lines while they put together a ragtag resistance on the Eclipse homeworld.

_"Or they didn't want their best troops gathered around in case of orbital bombardment... risky."_ Nelson thought in a rather calm manner as he brought his boot down on the leg of a Coalition technician.

"Surrender?" Nelson asked. In a rare case, the man now whimpering at his leg bending the wrong direction nodded and held his hands up defensively. Nelson smiled and waved his hand, putting the man to sleep before moving onto the next person wearing Coalition garb to enter his view.

The unfortunate man who did was one of the few remaining heavy armored Coalition marines. He soon found himself face first in the dirt while the rest of his body fell in the other direction. Nelson sheathed his sabers once he decapitated the soldier, sending a mech that was being repaired straight into the encampments temporary generator with fantastic results.

Chris felt the explosion down below as he kicked in the final door and immediately came under fire. The small firefight between him and the personal guard of Colonel Talvanius lasted 30 seconds and ended with a platoon of elite guards missing various parts of their heads and chests. Colonel Talvanius however, was only missing a kneecap.

"Nice job pointing him out, Harv."

"He shouldn't have worn such an opulent set of armor, sir."

"Any contacts left?"

"None sir... the planet is clean." Harvest replied quietly, his voice showing hints of disbelief, "We... actually pulled it off."

"Yeah..." Chris murmured, "Barely..."

* * *

Chancellor Kyle Tinto walked onto the battlefield where the ground portion of the Defense of New Mandalore had ended. All around him prisoners were being moved onto transports, troops were slowly moving towards extraction zones, and the Supreme Admiral of the Fleets was sitting atop a pile of rubble as he gazed up at the night sky.

"Ed?" Tinto asked quietly once he leaped up next to him.

"Good to see you made it, Kyle." Nelson replied quietly with a small smirk. "You look like bantha poodoo."

"You're one to talk." the Chancellor quipped with a weary grin, gently punching his supreme commander in the shoulder. "How's Hannah?"

"Alive... recovering... pregnant..."

"So I heard... Granvic filled me in on that little tidbit but not much else. I heard about Torcille and Jacobs as well."

"And Joshua."

"And Zel-Dai..."

"And a lot of good people..." Nelson finished with a sigh.

"At least it's over." Tinto added, standing up and offering his hand to Nelson. After what seemed like an eternity, the Supreme Commander of the Fleets took the hand of the Chancellor and stood up.

"No... this war has just started... what would you have me do, Chancellor?"

"You... have one order and one order only." Kyle answered, a grim smirk crawling across his face as he shook Nelson's hand. "Win this war. **Whatever it takes.**"


	51. Season 3 Epilogue

Secure Uplink Established...  
_RSSD Republic_

Revan, patch this message through to Grand Admiral Nelson's files as soon as he's available. Took us ten months but we finally got the casualty count and aftermath report figured out to the letter and I want him to see it before he goes on the offensive.

Also, please pass on my congratulations; the news of Ed W. Nelson IV being born only just reached public ears.

Regards,  
-Callien

Battle of New Mandalore Official Casualty Report:

Coalition Casualties  
Ships destroyed or crippled - 1,500  
Sentients KIA, WIA, MIA - 1,000,000  
Droids destroyed or disabled - N/A

* * *

Eclipse Republic Casualties  
Ships destroyed or crippled - 2,358*  
Sentients KIA, WIA, MIA - 521,809  
Droids destroyed or disabled - 600,293

Fleet Admiral Golt Torcille - KIA

Fleet Admiral Noelle Zel-Dai - KIA

Fleet Admiral Howard Jacobs - KIA

Field Marshall Hannah Nelson - WIA

*_RAS Kindred Spirit_ included.

Outcome – Devastating Republic Victory/Near Loss. Offensive fleet crippled, Admiralty decimated.  
RSSDs _Ragnos_ and _Nihilus_ commissioned.  
First Contact with The Coalition established.  
Coalition War officially began.

End of Transmission…


	52. Season 4 Teaser

The low-lit bridge of the RSSD _Republic _was in constant movement as officers continued to get ready for the upcoming operation. Datapads were being traded, Chief Officers were double-checking calculations, and Admiral Duylio continued to pace in front of his command chair slowly before he noticed everyone snapping to attention. He turned to see Grand Admiral Nelson entering the room and quickly snapped to attention himself.

"Admiral on deck!" Duylio barked before Nelson reached the massive center holotable and returned it.

"At ease everyone… Revan, bring me up to speed." Nelson said as three AIs let their avatars appear on the main table, life-sized. Once they had materialized, a planet formed between them with yellow unit markers all around it.

"Standard Coalition formation for defense, they found a Site that we couldn't get to because of the wars." The center AI replied.

"Any idea what it does?"

"Omega Archives suggest that it is storage for very powerful small arms as well as everything we need to make them." Revan told him, getting a slight scowl from Nelson, "Luckily for us, they haven't managed to unlock it and get it operational yet."

"Then I guess it's our job to keep it that way, especially given their reverse engineering capabilities."

"They'd be able to make mech-mounted versions, yes. If that were to happen, this war would get a lot uglier than it already has."

"Noted; operational status?"

"Everyone started heading to duty stations an hour ago, they're be ready in five minutes. We exit hyperspace in twenty… Lucky-7 is itching for a fight after we had to abandon Xesh last year."

"Kaylin will get revenge soon enough…" Nelson muttered.

* * *

"My Lord, I'm picking up contacts on the hyperspace radar… Eclipse." A Coalition Ops officer stated from his position aboard the CAS _Gargantuan_.

"How many?" Lord Udalna asked.

"Jus… oh my…. Gods…." The officer murmured in reply as the picture cleared up, "Either we're facing more than one Eclipse fleet… or we're looking at three of their big ships…"

"Let me see." Udalna growled, pushing the younger man out of the way before taking a step back. "Gods…"

* * *

"Status on _Nihilus_ and _Ragnos_?"

"Ready and waiting."

"Send the message, standard Tri-Formation when we exit with launch groups ready to go as soon as we're clear." Ed replied before turning to head back. "Duylio, you and Revan have the bridge. I have some upgrades to test personally."

"Aye aye sir, I'll try and make sure the Admiral behaves." Revan replied as the Supreme Commander of the Fleets left the room. Once he was gone, the bridge sprang back into action preparing everything they could for the battle. Weapons were being charged, shields were spinning up, engines we recycling coolant to clear the pipes properly, and everyone aboard the 29-kilometer long vessel continued with their duties.

Admiral Nelson on the other hand, found his way onto the bridge of an Aggressor-class Star Destroyer where the crew was already prepared and didn't bother with giving the customary salute as he made his way to his command chair, waiting for Field Marshall Nelson to vacate it first, of course.

"How's Eddy?"

"Doing fine, I'm heading back to _Republic _to check on him and his caretaker and then do my usual from the comm room once you get my boys on the ground." she replied with a small grin.

"Good... I'll stay safe, I promise."

"Good boy, I didn't even have to say it this time." Hannah quipped, leaving a kiss on his cheek before bounding out of the bridge. Once she was gone, Nelson took his seat and punched up the necessary systems.

"Dawn, status."

"Ready to launch when you are, Admiral." The AI replied, "Entering realspace in 5."

"All hands at the ready, Combat Alert Red… get me a link to Revan and the other AIs too."

"You rang?"

"Last minute check of _Republic_'s systems. Alpha?"

"Shielding at maximum, we're ready to take anything these bastards can throw at us."

"Omega?"

"Weapons at full charge and ready to kick some ass!"

"Revan, point defense?"

"Doubled and ready, Admiral… nothing. Is getting into. My bridge. Again." The AI growled in reply, his avatar flaring red for a moment.

"Good. I'll see you on the other side." Nelson replied before the com channels changed and the viewscreen depolarized to show the blue of hyperspace.

"10 seconds." Dawn muttered while everyone aboard strapped in. Nelson swore he could hear Kaylin from the flight deck shouting "LET'S DO THIS!"

The RSSD _Republic_, _Nihilus_, and _Ragnos _exited hyperspace and immediately began opening fire on anything that didn't have an Eclipse emblem painted somewhere on the hull. HBCs opened up, turbolaser fire arced out, missile banks launched everything they had, and upon Nelson's order, hundreds of capital ships detached from the hulls and launched out of the massive hangar bays of the three Super Star Destroyers.

"Channel open?" Nelson asked.

"Channel open." Dawn replied, a savage grin plastered on her avatar's face.

"All ships, this is the RAS _Morning Glory_… Spirit Fleet. No quarter. Make these bastards pay for New Mandalore."

* * *

**And so, Rise of the Red Eclipse is officially on Hiatus until my career in the Marines slows down enough for me to start posting. Hard to believe it's been 5 months and nearly 115,000 words so far. Yet, Rise is only halfway finished. For those willing to wait, I'll be starting up Seasons 4-6 in a few years, might even be able to finish them before 2020.**

**But to all my loyal readers, regardless of how many or how few of you there are, thank you for joining me on this rather interesting ride.  
**

**-Wikia  
**


End file.
